Unwillingly
by berryfreezepop
Summary: Someone is looking for Ginny and when all seems lost, who will offer their help, unwillingly, and end up getting more than they bargained for? Much fluff ensues. DM/GW Rated M for language and future sex. Chapter 12 UP! R&R please!
1. Get Out of My Mind

**Authors Note:** If I were JK... I would be richer than the queen of England. Mum's the word, but unfortunatly JK is NOT my mom (or me), though if she wishes to adopt me I would be perfectly happy with that!! So, what I'm trying to say here is... I own nothing. (Unless I... purchase the rights?)

**Full Summary**: The war is happening, it's real, and Ginny is caught in the middle. She wakes up and finds herself confused, and alone. And for the first time she dosen't have 7 boys protecting her.

**Pairings**: DM/GW (that's all at the moment)

**Rating**: M for language, violence, and eventual sex scenes

----------------------------------------------------------------- 1. (Get) Out of My Mind ------------------------------------------------

It was as though they were at a crossroad, or the climax of an epic war movie. Their eyes met, and there was nothing to be done as she watched a fist shatter his jaw, changing his boyish features into a concave mess of blood and slack skin. At the sight of his body in the mud she felt her own turn away and fall to its knees screaming in remorse for The Boy Who Lived, the boy she once loved. A flash of green should have come from behind her, signaling the end of his life, but nothing happened. Instead she heard a voice screaming to her from behind,

"_GINNY, GET UP!"_ she whipped around to find a man and his master, The Dark Lord, stalking towards her at an alarming pace, another one of his minions trailing behind to thrust his foot into Harry's ribs for his insolence.

"_CRUCIO!"_ The shouted curse flew from a traitor's lips, and Ginny felt as though Crabbe was straddling her mid-section punching her guts out with a hammer. Tears left muddy trails down her freckled cheeks as she twisted in agony, pulling at her sweater and digging her nails into the rough wool. And then just as suddenly as it started, it stopped. She slowly looked up at her assailant who had momentarily been preoccupied with others from the Order. She grabbed her wand, searching frantically for Harry and found him at the bottom of the hill, battling Lucius. She then searched for Voldemort. He was no where to be seen.

'_Figures,'_ she thought, _'cowardly piece of shi...'_ and before she finished her thought he was above her. The Dark Lord himself, in all his disgusting, deformed glory, standing above her, wand pointed straight at her heart.

'_I always know when it's you, little blood-traitor. I remember your sweet little voice'_. It was as if she thought it, but as his face twisted into an awful grin as he licked his lips, and she knew that he was inside her mind, about to veiw her most cherished memories. FLASH The burrow, she was eight and the twins had convinced her to let them use her dolls as testing figures, which they "accidently" turned into hideous toads FLASH she was ten and running after the Hogwarts train FLASH she and Harry were holding hands under the table at dinner FLASH Draco's eyes were so very close to hers FLASH… she fought hard to control herself, her mind, and suddenly…

'_I know you Tom, I know you better than you know your own self. I've been you, remember? I've heard your thoughts... I can still hear your thoughts, Tom. What kind of game do you think you're playing? I KNOW YOU!!! YOU ARE A HIPOCRITE!! A MUD-BLOOD AND A MURDURER!!!'_ She thought that long and hard before her thoughts overwhelmed his and he and sent another Cruciatus Curse her way, not stopping until she screamed so hard that her throat bled and her ears couldn't hear her own screams. Everyone was right about him, not a very forgiving man, monster. She felt an ice-cold sweep over her, and suddenly thought she was dead. Cautiously, her eyes opened to see nothing, death shouldn't be this painful. Pitch black as far as she could see, but still heard sounds of war. She tried to get up, but found herself pinned in place, and gosh it was cold! Her body trembled, and only when she felt the mass move above her did she realize that it was a body. A stone-cold body. She thrashed her small frame around until she found release from the offending carcass and stood up to stare at it. Long silver hair, and an unpleasantly pointy nose stuck up in the air as she stared down as Malfoy. He didn't look so threatening now, but the terror in his eyes suggested terror far worse than he could ever imagine inflicting, even on Dobby. It was unsettling, the way his eyes cursed the sky, only because that was how his head had decided to fall, so Ginny knelt down beside him and gently pulled his pale eyelids over the dead silver orbs.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!" She snapped to attention and saw a very distraught son standing over her, his eyes, very much like his fathers.

"Well I, …." She stared up at him like a child caught doing something very naughty for the second time in one day, "I thought that… " and then she shrugged, looking up at her enemy.

"Get up, Weasley." He said her name with as much distaste as she could have imagined, but obeyed, taking care to flip her wand out at him. He laughed menacingly at her attempt to look threatening and walked towards her, capturing her eyes with his. Only when his lips were millimeters from her ear did he whisper, "it's for your own good, littlest weasel." With that last remark he punched her soundly in the temple and she slumped to the ground unceremoniously as he walked away without a second glance.

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**I've noticed that an alarming number of readers stop after this chapter. I know it's dark and short and not very well written according to my standards, but if you read on, especially to the third chapter and on, I promise the story lightens up and an actual plot begins to form. Don't forget to REVIEW with anything... flames welcome :)**


	2. Run!

**Authors Note:** I own nothing other than the skeletons in my closet. (aka. nothing but the plot!)

**Full Summary**: The war is happening, it's real, and Ginny is caught in the middle. She wakes up and finds herself confused, and alone. And for the first time she dosen't have 7 boys protecting her.

**Pairings**: DM/GW (that's all at the moment)

**Rating**: M for language, violence, and eventual sex scenes

**I suggest listening to Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings, Op. 11 during the first part of this. It's perfect for the feelings I was going for. Although, Gorecki's Symphony of Sorrowful Songs could work too, if you press repeat on the first 40 seconds of it for a couple of minutes. The rest of the piece works mostly for the last part of the chapter. Try looking up the CD, Music to Die for. Absolutely stunning mood music... annnddd on with the show!**

------------------------------------- 2. Run! -------------------------------------

Something was wrong, beautifully wrong. _'I most certainly have to be dead now.'_ Ginny felt her body floating through warm silk that left her skin coated in a glossy wetness, presumably, from contact with clouds. Her arms and face were experiencing the most delightful sensation. Warmth, something neither she, nor any other wizard had felt since the morning Voldemort cursed the sky above Hogwarts to be everlastingly gloomy and cold. Hoping that it would dishearten his enemies he had not carefully considered the damage it would do to the surrounding land and forest. The three years of constant rain had killed everything, molding trees and bushes from the inside out, drowning the flowers and grass, and lastly, contributing to the dark, wet earth that laid barren for the last battle of the Great War.

So, you see, as Ginny felt her arms tingle with the warming sensations of the sun, she knew that she had to be dead.

'_Or maybe…'_ she opened her eyes to the startling, dazzling blue ocean of the sky before quickly snapping them back shut, _'maybe I'm not dead at all.'_

For about one and a half minutes, the copper-haired girl lay sinking into the warm earth beneath her before rolling on her side. Pain jabbed at her right abdomen at the action and she quickly sat up before opening her eyes, her head now dully throbbing on the right side. She stood wearily, first placing her hands on her knees before rolling her spine up the stand erect. Adjusting her feet in the soggy mud she observed the grounds of Hogwarts. Not a single body was left, none but hers. Confused, she turned around and saw the same nothingness.

'_But, the Sun, it has to be over!!'_ She ran to the bottom of the hill and into the Forbidden Forest, which had since been turned into a field of large branchless trees sticking out of the ground. It offered her no protection as she collapsed against the giant, vine-like roots of one of the trees and began sobbing into its hollow bark.

She felt something behind her move so she quickly snapped her head around to watch a bird peck furiously at the mud.

"You'll never find anything to eat here. Go on, fly somewhere else!" she shooed the white bird away, with her hand, but it stood unmoving. She was briefly reminded of Hedwig before standing up to forcibly make the bird move, she swung her hand at it, hoping the closeness of her would scare it off, "GET OUT!!" she screamed. It flew up and around her head a few times before landing on her arm, nuzzling her cheek softly before flying into the distance. Ginny drew her hands together over her eyes as she collapsed and silently shook a lifetime of sorrows out of her soul. Ginny lay down in the middle of her sobs to drift in and out of reality.

She was startled awake by a heavy thumping close to her. A sort of mushing sound, like when Fred and George would throw gelatin at each other, and if you didn't bother to look where you were walking you would accidentally step in a gob of it. Yes, she confirmed that's exactly what it sounded like before closing her eyes once more.

'_Wait… what?'_ she sat up abruptly, _'that can't possibly be the source of the noise!! Ginny, you're loosing your marbles girl!'_ She crouched low and looked around her spotting a very tall, cloaked man stomping around the forest.

'_Well, that's quite odd, isn't it?'_ He was looking for something. She heard voices from behind him but could not hear what they had said; she could, however, hear his response quite clearly. For at the very moment that he opened his mouth to speak he looked straight at her. She saw his Death-Eater mask very clearly and visibly winced as she listened for what he would say.

"I CAN'T FIND HER! I DON'T THINK SHE'S HERE!!" he had screamed back at his clan before marching directly towards her. She scrambled to her feet, backing away from him slowly as he approached her. The man grabbed her arm and placed an object in her palm, closing it for her and looking up at her face. Then, he simply said,

"Run." When she did not move, he pushed her, "run." He urged her to move and before she could even decipher what was happening she ran as fast as she could from him, into the depths of the forest. Her feet galloped wildly through the barren forest, tripping on dead roots and fallen branches. She further and deeper into unknown territory until she could not see anymore, the sun had set and she was rendered utterly helpless, and in the dark. Suddenly remembering why her palm was clutched so tightly she lifted up the object to her eyes and felt its edges with her other hand, trying to discern what it could possibly be. Her soft fingertips rubbed at the smooth metal pendant, and felt the fine chain it dangled on.

'_A necklace?'_ she pondered. _'What the fuck kind of relevance does this have to anything at all!?_" Her heart sped up as she felt the impossible feeling of him. His closeness.

"_Hello, sweet young blood-traitor"_ Ginny felt the air sweep clean from her lungs, _"it seems that, even in death, I have a tight following. You see, Harry has not yet found the last bits of my soul. And, my dear, I am quite talented with Occlumency, so it seems as though I have not lost all of my followers yet. As for Harry, he has lost almost everyone. He's loosing hope and will soon find that he has lost you too. What a pity!"_ She heard his revolting snicker in her head before speaking aloud,

"So, you're going to kill me?"

"_No. I am going to use you. We've been after you for quite some time." _

"What? I am nothing but a girl. Harry doesn't even love me like that anymore!"

"_Exactly. You are a girl... in fact, you're the first female Weasley descendant in seven generations. Don't you find that intriguing?"_

"No, I don't find it _intriguing_! I find it very frustrating." She defended through ground teeth.

"Why's that Weasel? Can't rough around with your brothers in the dirt behind your sad little shack? Your filthy mother won't let you partake in their games? Are you quite lonely?" Ginny turned around to see Blaise Zambini staring down at her, arms crossed, and very huge looking... the muscular sort of huge... the frightening sort of huge.

"_Take her."_ The Dark Lord spoke, or rather, thought into Blaise and Ginny's minds. Zambini grabbed her by her upper arm and pulled her roughly through the woods. She felt Voldemort's presence leave just before her assailant dropped her to the ground, and crouched down next to her.

"I thought I told you to run."

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**So, yeah. Got a pretty good response to the first chapter. Most people were "intrigued" or "interested"... is this because I am mysterious, or because my plot is so confusing, even I don't know what's what?! ... just kidding. I know what's going on... i think? maybe? Ok, so whatever, I guess this is a cliffy sort of ending, but oh well! and PS. I bet you're all sick of my comma use, but I like poetry. And I suppose that writing dramatically intense sentences is absolutely impossible for me!**


	3. Confused and Out of Control

**A/N:** Ok, so... I finished Deathly Hallows last week, and have been thinking about where that leaves me with this story. I purposely didn't let too much of my plot out, just because I started writing this SO CLOSE to the release of the 7th book. Fortunately enough, for me, one of the main parts of my plot actually works PERFECTLY with J.K.'s plot if we tweak it a bit. So, we've got some NEW warnings. Also, I changed the summary and the title of the story. This used to be called 'False Pretences', but is now titled 'Unwillingly' PLEASE READ:

**_WARNING: HDH SPOILERS!!!! DON'T READ ANY FUTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW DETAILS!!!_**

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Alright, now to where I'm going with this story. We're going to pretend that the epilouge didn't happen (the section labled 19 years later). We're also going to pretend that the part of Voldemort that was inside of Harry, never actually died, that Harry never even went to the Shrieking Shack because he didn't want to do what Voldemort expected. He did, however, kill all the other horcruxes. Easy enough to understand. Now... the 3rd chapter! **Disclaimer:** I DO NOT own Harry Potter, anything relating to him, the plot of the books, or anything that Jo has even thought, or might think in the near future. (Just covering all my bases)  
**_NEW!_ Full Summary:** HDH SPOILERS! WARNING! Ginny is caught in the middle of a terrible plot to kill Harry Potter, led by the spirit of Voldemort and his small group of faithful Death Eaters. Who will be willing to risk their safety for hers, and at what cost? How will Ginny survive when her safe-keeper wants nothing to do with her? Expect the unexpected. language, violence, MAJOR fluff, eventual sex.  
**Pairings:** DM/GW, BZ/GW (a bit this chapter)  
**Warnings:** HDH Spoilers!, M for language, violence, fluff, drugs and eventual sex scenes

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**3. Confused and Out of Control**

_('Take her.' The Dark Lord spoke, or rather, thought into Blaise and Ginny's minds. Zambini grabbed her by her upper arm and pulled her roughly through the woods. She felt Voldemort?s presence leave just before her assailant dropped her to the ground, and crouched down next to her._

_"I thought I told you to run")_

Ginny looked up into her assailant's dark eyes with confusion.

"That was you? Back there in the forest, you gave me this necklace?" the now-warm pendant was still clutched in her sweating palm.

"Yes." he sat down now, "Unfortunately for you, I now have to bring you to the remaining Death Eaters, if you had run..." his voice trailed off, obviously annoyed.

"So, wait..." she held out her hands as a sign of misunderstanding, "whose side are you on here"

"That's a very good question," he smirked a very handsome smirk, "I don't... know. And, I don't really think I can tell you too much right now?" He ended the sentence, the inflection the the word rising in pitch, it was a question. How could he not know? _'Ah, well, apparently he's working for someone else... but probably isn't going to tell me who... better try...'_

"So why does Voldemort want me?" His eyes darkened at the mention of the name, and he completely ignored her question, opting to stare absently into the forest instead.

"Ooookkk." Ginny stared into his dark eyes, determined to get an answer. But she soon caught herself absorbed in the smooth caramel curves of his cheeks and sturdy jaw, the angle of his determined profile, and of course, his soft, full lips. It had been quite a while since Ginny had kissed anyone, and so, she often found herself thinking about kissing different sorts of people. Many men had tempted her, but none had succeeded in actually performing the deed. Not since that last kiss she shared with Harry.

She looked down at the pendant, annoyed at where his presence had led her thoughts and embarrassed that they were showing themselves on her freckled face in the form of a light blush. She quickly shoved in her pocket before looking back up at Zambini. However, Blaise was too interested in a small bit of parchment that he was writing on, but his ink disappeared as soon as he was finished writing. Ginny understood this form of communication all too well; when the ink of Blaise's message was dry, it disappeared and a response from someone else appeared in its place. It was the same kind of magic that Tom used in his diary, dark magic.

"Alright Weasel, we're sleeping here tonight. It's too risky trying to find our way through this part of the forest at night, so we'll just have to wait until sunrise." He turned to pull some blankets, and pillows from a black bag that was way too small to contain them and threw some over to Ginny before getting up and muttering some unintelligible incantations around the area, "Those are so you don't succeed in escaping, and these," he mumbled a bit more before turning back to her, "are so no one will be able to rescue you"

"Clever." She flashed him a bright, cocky smile and fluffed a pillow before getting up to spread her blankets, one on top of the other. He watched her with a dull confusion before walking up behind her and holding her still with his strong hands on her waist. She felt his breath on the back of her neck and was sure that if she turned and watched she would be able to see the hot air leaving his mouth. She shivered, it had gotten quite cold and his nearness had made the rest of her body very aware of the goosebumps that covered her skin. She drew in a long shaky breath before his soft lips brushed the soft skin of her shoulder and his hands caressed forward, resting on her stomach, his body pressed against hers. He brought his head back up to her ear,

"I would think that a Gryffindor would have more self preservation than you, Weasley. How do you know that I'm not going to kill you right now?" His hands tightened around her stomach making it uncomfortable to breath, "How do you know what my agenda is?" At this his right hand moved up, dangerously close to her breast, "What are you going to do now, little weaselette?" But Ginny had lost her voice minutes ago, all she could do was breath.

He let go of her unceremoniously and she fell to the ground, shaken and cold. He watched her crawl to her makeshift bed and disappear into the red blanket before silently cursing himself for losing control. He ran his hand through his thick black hair before walking to his own pile of blankets and falling asleep.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Ginny woke up in a darkness that had an odd red tint. She was quite hot, and sweaty as she stretched her legs, kicking a soft root several times before pulling the blanket off her head and sitting up. Blaise was standing right over her, with a dark look on his face.

"Enjoy your assault on my shin, Weasel?" She had been kicking his leg, not a root. Ginny furrowed her eyebrows and a weak smile played on her lips before he turned away, back to his parchment. The sun was shining fiercely through the heavy cover of the trees and the ground around her was wet with dew. Ginny stood up silently, brushing her hair away from her eyes before looking over Blaise's shoulder and reading his message. His, in a dark blue ink was just disappearing as another, a metallic green, bled into the parchment.

**Blaise:** _Yes, we'll be leaving in a few minutes._  
**Unknown Green ink:** _Why did she have to live? I thought Bellatrix killed her during the last moments! This complicates my plan terribly, I don't know what to do with her!  
_**Blaise:**_ You know the Dark Lord's purpose for her, don't you?_  
**Unknown Green ink:** _Yes, but he cannot fulfill that purpose until he finds me... which will hopefully be never._  
**Blaise:** _Where should I take her, if the desired location is under his control?_

Ginny's hair fell from behind her ear and floated to Blaise's shoulder. She gasped before backing up across the clearing very quickly. Blaise, however, rose very slowly and turned towards her before walking to where she was with a dark scowl on his face, his eyes darker than they had ever been. He reached for her and succeeded in pinning her against a tree while pressing his fingers hard into the delicate skin of her neck, making it nearly impossible for her to breath. He growled very close to her face and locked eyes with hers.

"Spying on me will get you nowhere. Do you understand?" Ginny quickly nodded her head and was rewarded when his grip loosened, and his hands gradually let go. They stood face-to-face, awkwardly, as Ginny caught her breath and Blaise's eyes lightened to a chocolate brown.

He sighed and softly ran the tips of his fingers where his hands had left a mark, making her insides flip-flop. He looked up at her again and mumbled, "Sorry." before gently kissing where his hands had been. His lips lingering a bit too long, and making all the blood rush to Ginny's face. He turned around and continued his corrospondence with the parchment.

Ginny didn't know what to do with herself. Blaise Zambini, of all people, had her alone, in a forest and had violated her personal space, TWICE. Ginny blushed, she had liked it. He was strong and sure, and she had an inkling that he wasn't going to kill her. But, how could she be falling for a boy who had stood by her worst enemy's side throughout Hogwarts and watched all the abusive comments shot her way? A man who had killed her brother Charlie, in cold blood, the night before the last battle. A Death Eater.

"Come on, we need to start moving." he waved his wand around their clearing as he lead her into the lesser known parts of the forbidden forest.

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**A/N:** I'll be posting chapter 4 in a couple of hours. Just gimme some time to write it! **Suggestion:** Review while you're waiting! I want to know what you think!! Where do you think this will go/Where do you want it to go? How am I doing with my characters, are they OC at all? Give me some feedback:D 


	4. Closer

**Disclaimer:** I was not on MSNBC giving an in-debth interview about all the secrets of Harry Potter tonight. So, therefore, I am not J.K. Thus, it would be correct to assume that I DO NOT own any thing.

**Full Summary:** HDH SPOILERS! WARNING! Ginny is caught in the middle of a terrible plot to kill Harry Potter, led by the spirit of Voldemort and his small group of faithful Death Eaters. Who will be willing to risk their safety for hers, and at what cost? How will Ginny survive when her safe-keeper wants nothing to do with her? Expect the unexpected. M for language, violence, MAJOR fluff, eventual sex.

**Pairings:** DM/GW, BZ/GW (a bit more in this chapter)

**Warnings:** HDH Spoilers!, language, violence, fluff, eventual drugs and eventual sex scenes

**A/N:** Thank you to all of my reviewers!! (Although I would like some more feedback... I've got 294 hits on this fic and only 8 reviews) AND don't kill me, I didn't edit this one as much as the other chapters so I'm _sure _there are some errors:D

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oOo 4. Closer oOo

_("Come on, we need to start moving." he waved his wand around their clearing as he lead her into the lesser known parts of the forbidden forest)_

Ginny was disoriented as all hell. She had been following Blaise through the forest for what seemed like 6 hours now, and there was no sign of a break in the trees, or any kind of civilization. The only change in environment that Ginny could discern was the texture of the ground. The hard earth that made up the ground in the clearing was slowly becoming softer, and sandier, there were more pine trees than any other kind, and their roots were not as exaggerated as before. Instead of the huge roots of the forest near Hogwarts, these roots were close to the ground, rope-like, ready to be tripped on. And, with Ginny's grace, she had landed on her face more than once this afternoon. They were now at a slow jogging pace, the humidity in the air leaving a thick coat of sweat on each of their foreheads. Ginny reached up to wipe her head when her foot caught, yet again, in the loop of a root and she slammed to the ground, face first. Blaise turned around swiftly, laughing when he spotted her on the ground. 

"How is it, Weaslebee, that you have fallen... what is it now.. FOUR TIMES, but I have yet to fall?" He smirked at her position.

"Oh shut up, Mr. I'm-a-Perfect-Git-Zabini! I'm tired, and don't know where I'm going, and I'm hungry and it's hot out and... and... "

"Ok, alright, we'll stop for a while," he walked towards her and sat on the ground, his back resting against an ancient pine, "but we won't stop for long, The Dark Lord won't be happy that we're going in the wrong direction." He wiped his forehead off with his sleeve and pulled two flasks of water out of his black bag, throwing one to Ginny who was surprised when she caught it. She watched him down half of his water before taking a sizeable sip herself.

"Where are we going?" her eyes rooted him to the spot, and he couldn't look away from her demanding stare.

"I don't know..." he swallowed hard, "well, I do know... I know how to get there, but I don't know exactly where it is, once we get there. I do know that we're headed east!" he frowned as his truthfulness disappointed her and took another gulp of his water. He got up and walked to her, taking her hand in his and hoisting her up.

"Come on, we better get moving." Ginny nodded and handed him her flask before pulling her hair up into a bun and following him through the deserted forest.

They jogged and walked until the sun had set completely and Ginny couldn't see two feet in front of her. She subsequentially tripped on another root.

"ARRGGGHH!" she scraped her knees and elbows on a fallen tree trunk on her way down, Blaise was at her side in an instant

"Are you alright?" His hand brushed her knee, lit by the lumos charm. His face was an expression Ginny never thought she would see on him, a mixture of worry and compassion. She swiftly moved away from him, knowing very well the results of too much skin-to-skin contact with Blaise Zabini would do to her heart rate, and the color of her face.

"I'm fine, just tripped again. I'm not very graceful." She looked up at him innocently and wined, "Can't we just call it a day and rest here?" He rolled his eyes at her foolishness.

"I don't know if we can risk it and..."

"But I'm sooooo tired! I can't even walk three feet without tripping, and I'm sure you agree that with me falling every five seconds, we're not going to make much progress!" Her case was strong, and she was right. If they waited out until morning, they could cover more ground in less time. But the real question was, how much time do they have? Is there enough time to wait? Blaise stood up.

"We can't wait. And if you don't think you can move yourself, I'll just have to carry you." his arms were folded against his chest.

"NOO!" Ginny stumbled to stand up straight "Why not? It's not that big of a deal, you're really little"

"I don't want you to carry me"

"I don't understand why"

"What.. what if you drop me or something, I don't know. I just don't feel comfortable"

"Weasel, I won't drop you." he smirked at her before jokingly flexing his arms, "Plus, if you don't let me carry you, I'll just have to put you in my bag." he lifted up the black backpack that had obviously been charmed to extend.

"Fine." She glared at him, a smirk playing on her own lips as he walked towards her, "Put me in your bag." He stopped walking for a moment, reading the determination in her eyes before opening the bag.

"Alright, get in." Ginny walked towards him slowly, looking down at his backpack. "Go on, Weasely, you were so determined to get in before! Just jump right in!" his voice had a hint of a chuckle in it that Ginny didn't appreciate and she promptly smacked him on the shoulder.

"You are a self-righteous git!!" She whispered at him, with as much malice as any Slytherin could imagine.

"Just let me carry you, just for two or three hours, then we'll stop!" She looked up at him unsure of the compromise, "Deal"

"Ok, fine, deal." Before she could protest what she had agreed to, Blaise swung the backpack on and lifted her up into his arms, cradling her carefully to his chest. He smelled like gingerbread and pine, but Ginny assumed the pine was because of the forest as she nuzzled her face into his warm shirt and he bounded off again, at a quicker speed than they had achieved all day.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

Ginny woke up, unusually warm and comfortable. She was still in Blaise's arms, but they weren't moving any more. She moved her legs a bit. AHHHH! They were resting! But, she was cuddled up to him, his arm around her like a teddy bear, and his chin resting on her shoulder. She backed up into him a little more, comfortable with the protection he offered and snuggled with his arm before falling back asleep.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

The next morning Ginny woke up feeling like she ought to vomit. And without further thought, she did. Right in the path of the man who was jogging her through the woods.

"Ahhhh... ICK. God, Weasel! You couldn't warn me before you chucked your stomach all over my shoes?" He placed her on her feet and quickly cleaned the mess up with a Scouring Charm. He looked over at Ginny who had her hands clutching her knees, and her head resting on her arms.

"I think I'm sick." she sniffled

"Perfect." he walked over to her and felt her forehead, very hot and clammy. "Just perfect. We have to keep moving"

"Can't you just apparate"

"NO! He'll be able to track us if I apparate, the only safe way is by foot." Ginny groaned at the thought of being bobbled up and down in his arms again, "Listen, we're almost there. We've got 2, maybe 3 miles to go! Come on, I know it won't feel good, but I promise to deal with whatever your mouth shoots at me, including vomit until we get there"

"Why are you doing this?"

"Because you don't deserve to die. You're a pure-blood, and I can't let him kill you just because of your family." He was serious.

"So, you're still a Death Eater, because you believe in cleansing the Wizarding race, but you don't support You-Know-Who?" Ginny itched to say his name, but knew it wouldn't be wise, the name had been taboo-ed.

"He's a half-blood." Zabini made his disgust for the Dark Lord quite clear in this remark as he walked towards Ginny and held out his hand, "I know you don't trust me, but you have to in order to survive. You don't really have a choice here." She nodded and let him pick her up again, leaning into his body as he ran her through the woods towards their destination.

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**A/N:** Ok, so you must be DYING to know what I'm going to do with this... but I'm not ready yet. But here are some "hints": the next chapter will introduce the character that you've been waiting for and bunches of other surprises, and a death... I didn't even call that one, but apparently it has to happen. Ginny will get even closer to Blaise before the new character comes into play, and Ginny will find herself in an awful situation. Simply terrible. And, I'm drawing inspiration from a movie I once saw, but if I tell you now, you'll guess the plot. I'm planning on updating, probably Tuesday night. **REVIEW!!!! Please! I need some feedback!**


	5. A Smirking Surprise

**Full Summary:** HDH SPOILERS! WARNING! Ginny is caught in the middle of a terrible plot to kill Harry Potter, led by the spirit of Voldemort and his small group of faithful Death Eaters. Who will be willing to risk their safety for hers, and at what cost? How will Ginny survive when her safe-keeper wants nothing to do with her? Expect the unexpected. M for language, violence, MAJOR fluff, eventual sex.

**Pairings:** DM/GW, BZ/GW (a lot more in this chapter.)

**Warnings:** _HDH Spoilers!,_ language, violence, fluff, eventual drugs and eventual sex scenes

**A/N:** I decided to wait until tonight to update, just so I could do some more editing. THANK YOU!!! to all of my reviewers! Especially darkroses2992, and Peril Of Hope... you're both so lovely:D

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oOo 5. A Smirking Surprise oOo

_("I know you don't trust me, but you have to in order to survive. You don't really have a choice here." She nodded and let him pick her up again, leaning into his body as he ran her through the woods towards their destination.)_

Blaise ran as quickly as his muscled thighs would carry him. They were in danger; he could feel the beginnings of The Dark Lord's anger, his frustration. _'Where are they?'_ he could feel it in his mark, his disgusting half-blood mark. There was bright yellow light ahead, and he visibly sighed, they were here. _'I hope this works out.'_ he thought.

He slowed down to a walking pace as he cuddled the Weasley girl to him. It was frustrating trying to figure her out, her ever-changing personality and mood swings didn't help. She moaned as he shifted his arms to brush her wild hair away from her face, her beautiful face. There had only been one girl in Blaise's life that he refused to pursue, during his years at Hogwarts, where he was widely known for being a ladies man, a player of sorts, who charmed girls with his words, used them and then left them without a single word. He smirked, because it was true, but also because his ultimate prize was laying in his arms. The one girl that he wanted at the end, was leaning into his chest, her breath mingling in the threads of his cloak.

The dirt suddenly turned a lighter, sandier color (Alas, it **was **sand) and the smell of brine and seaweed hit Blaise's nose like a wave crashing over his head. The sounds of the ocean were calming and Blaise caught himself staring happily at the rocky shore where the waves pounded against ancient caves. His dark eyes traveled up, resting on the porch of a small cottage perched on the rocks of the shore. He could barely make it out, as though it was a mirage but as he traveled closer, it became clearly visible. A small, white, two-story house with a wrap around porch, green shutters and a black roof. He had been here before, but those had been happier times, summer vacations and get-togethers.

He reached the crooked steps with a sigh of relief, they were safe inside the house's protection. Only people who knew of the cottage's location could see or access it, and those two people were currently within it's borders. Blaise smiled as his best friend appeared in the doorway, but instantly scowled when he saw the anger in the posture of the man before him.

"This wasn't part of the plan, Zabini." Blaise looked down at the helplessly sick girl in his arms before he shrugged.

"There was nowhere else to take her, you know that! Everyone is looking for her." He paused to look up into his friend's irritated face, "Hogwarts would have been a death trap... especially with Dumbledore gone... and her home, well, that was certainly never an option." His explanation was met with a sneer.

"So... what now, Blaise?! Do you expect me to take care of her? You and I don't feel the same about the little Weaselette, and you _know _that. I told you that I wished she had died. But... I suppose that's my fault for not killing her myself when I had the chance." The owner of the metallic green quill smirked at his best mate, teasing him. It had been so long since he had any company in this secluded little shack and it had driven him absolutely bonkers.

"I'll take care of her. But we'll have to stay here." The man in the doorway walked towards Blaise and Ginny shaking his head back and forth.

"NO. You can't stay here! Not with that... _thing_ on your arm!!" Blaise quickly covered the offending tattoo, "He'll find us all if you stay." Blaise was being pushed back down the stairs, unbelievingly.

"He... he's going to kill me. When I come back without her... he'll kill me." His friend's face softened as he started to fully understand the situation, Blaise had been ordered to find Ginny and bring him back to The Dark Lord, so if he returned with out the red-headed blood traitor he would be punished in the worst way possible. It had been naieve to think they would be the only ones who wanted the girl under their protection.

Ginny awoke with a start, clutching at Blaise's cloak roughly before letting go, and looking up into his face.

"What's going on? What's happened?" She reached up to him and ran her soft hand against his warm cheek before hearing a snort from behind her. Whipping her head around quickly she saw someone who she had never hoped to see again in her life.

"Malfoy. What in the bloody hell are you doing here?" Malfoy's face suddenly turned cold again as his drank in the smallest of his enemies, regarding her with the nastiest of sneers.

"Well, _Weasel_, it would appear that you are standing on the porch, OF MY BEACH HOUSE!" He smirked at her reaction, her head cowering away from him and into Blaise's chest, eyes darkening with the fury he knew so well from torturing her for years at school.

"Our beach house." Blaise added as an afterthought, placing Ginny down on her feet. "There's no other way, Draco, she has to stay here."

"WHAT?!" two angry faces turned to stare at him in disgust.

"I couldn't possibly stay with this gross, evil little _ferret!_"

"Well, I guess that's settled then, isn't it Zabini. The Weasel doesn't want to stay here, so you two can..." Malfoy's face dropped as he watched his friend's face contort into an ugly scowl, and backed away slightly as Blaise's knees hit the floor, his right arm clutching his left closely to his body. His eyes were bloodshot, dripping with tears, as his face turned an unnatural reddish color from all the blood rushing to his head. Ginny gasped and rushed to his side, crouching down and resting her hand on his right arm as Malfoy ran into the house, returning moments later with a thick black potion. He roughly pushed Ginny aside and yanked Blaise's left arm from the strong grip of his right and poured the gooey mess on the mark, spreading it along his forearm. After several moments, the goo hardened and turned white. Draco stood up as Blaise peeled the residue off his arm, revealing a hideously deformed dark mark.

Ginny crawled back to Blaise's side and instinctively reached out to touch the mark. It was hot against her fingertips, and the raised black tattoo felt like swollen blisters. She caught Blaise's eyes and immediately dropped her hand, standing up to look down at him. He stood up slowly regarding the two figures before him cautiously before whispering

"He's coming to find me."

**A/N**: I was soooo ridiculously tempted to end it here... but I thought that would be too cruel!! 

"How long...?" Ginny's hands were trembling

"A couple of hours, at most. He knows I can't be more than 200 miles from where he left us, and seeing as he flies, he'll be able to cover an immense amount of ground." He looked down at his arm, cursing the summer after his 6th year of school, when he thought he was doing the noble thing by becoming a Death Eater.

"Will he be able to get in here?" Ginny's voice shook as she stepped closer to Blaise, wanting to protect him, give her life so that he could live. It might actually do some good if he lived rather than her. He could be a spy for the Order, she wouldn't have died in vain.

"Not at first, but eventually, yes." came Malfoy's reply from behind her, again, scaring her. She hadn't remembered that he was there, "Blaise, you have to run. Go abroad, Asia or the Americas at best. Hide until this is all over." He pleaded with his friend whole-heartedly, which left Ginny bug-eyed. Since when did the ferret have feelings? _'I guess even the nastiest of Slytherin slime care about their friends. And it's sooo like him to run. We ought to fight!'_ she smirked before quickly hiding her amusement.

"What about..." Blaise jerked his head over towards Ginny. Malfoy huffed, obviously aggravated with the decision he was being forced to make

"She can stay here." he shot her a look that told her she wasn't going to be happy about it, "But _you_ have to leave... **now**."

Blaise nodded. He shook his friend's hand and turned to walk down the stairs before wheeling back around to look at Ginny. He stood before her speechless, just soaking in her face and hair, her beautiful eyes and soft lips. Her full, pink lips that he would have to wait to kiss.

But Blaise couldn't wait, he strode towards her and pulled her body into his softly kissing her forehead before looking into her eyes. She leaned forward and placed a swift, chaste kiss on his lips before biting her own bottom one and looking up at him quizzically, as though he had an explanation for her actions. He chuckled softly to himself as he leaned into her and brought his lips down on hers, hands caressing the small of her back, pushing her into him while her fingers wove through the mass of his thick black hair.

"Knock it the hell off." Malfoy was practically gagging at the sight of his best mate snogging a Weasley. It was utterly atrocious.

The two broke apart. Ginny reached into her pocket and handed him the necklace he had given her two nights ago, when he tried to save her life, without risking his own. Malfoy's scowl deepened, but only Blaise knew why.

"Ginny, you can't give this to me."

"Why not?"

"Because it's yours now." he handed it back to her. But Ginny, being the determined woman she is, reached behind him to deftly place it around his neck.

"Well, then you can give it back to me when this war is over." She smiled weakly at him before slowly backing away from him.

"Alright you two. Behave yourselves while I'm gone! " Malfoy shot Ginny a nasty look, and retorted,

"Don't worry, we will." Somehow, Ginny didn't believe him at all. (Shocker)

The two watched from the safety of the porch as Blaise walked away with one of Malfoy's brooms in hand. He stopped along the edge of the water, discerning the direction he ought to go in. The wind picked up in speed considerably when he mounted his broom, but before he could kick off he fell to the ground, grasping for air, clutching his arm. The air thickened grossly and the sky darkened as Harry Potter walked out into the clearing, regarding Blaise with a look Ginny had never seen on his face before. He looked, almost, menacing. It was unnerving to Ginny who backed up into Malfoy who roughly grabbed her upper arms and dragged her into the house. They both watched from the windows of the cottage as Harry walked up to Blaise and spoke with him.

"I told you to bring me the Weasley girl." His voice was not Harry's, and Ginny suddenly realized that it wasn't Harry.

"Please forgive me, master, she di.. died." Blaise held out the necklace as proof.

"WHAT!?" The scream of Tom Riddle might not have been as terrifying as his previous, when he was Lord Voldemort, but it was enough to send chills throughout Ginny's body.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!"

"You killed my future wife, you BASTARD!" Tom backed away from Blaise slightly before raising his wand, "For that, I am afraid you must die. AVADA KEDAVRA!" A jet of green light flew from the tip of Tom's wand and hit Blaise squarely in the chest. The young man fell to the ground. Tom leaned down and ripped the necklace off of his now dead body, turning into a mass of black smoke, before flying away.

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**A/N**: So... yeah. I'm a little unsure about where I'm taking this, exactly. I know where the main plot is going, but it will certianly be a journey trying to come up with a way to explain everything that just happened. I have some... rough... ideas... sort of. Don't worry, I'll figure it out eventually! Don't forget to REVIEW! I loovveee feedback so much... flames are more than welcome! email me if you like it better. 


	6. The Dead Cold of Alone

**Disclaimer:** I am a 19 year old girl from South Jersey who **pretends** to have as much imagination and creativity as the certian British woman we all adore. 

**Warnings:** _HDH Spoilers!,_ language, violence, fluff, eventual underage drinking & drugs(?) and eventual sex scenes

**A/N:** AHHHHHH!! Please don't hate me for killing Blaise last chapter! I **suppose** I should have warned you or something like that (actually, I did. In the 4th chapter's author note... not everyone reads them), but it would have totally given it away. There were really only 3 main characters, and since this _is_ a Ginny/Draco fic you would have been able to discern who was going to die. :(

Just let me explain why it had to be done: first off, Ginny has to be so broken and disconnected from the world and herself for any of this to work, unless I pull her OC, which I really don't want to do. She is such a strong character that in order to break her, you have to do it all the way. She was left, alone, in the middle of the battle field, when everyone else had gone... why? (well, you don't know why yet, but I do) This made Ginny think that no one cared about her already, they were leaving her in the dark _again_. So, she ran off into the woods. Then she finds out that, even through all the effort, lives lost, and battles fought the Dark Lord is **still alive!** She lost TWO brothers in this war (in this fic its George and Charlie) and still it wasn't enough!! Then Blaise comes along, and he's being nice to her and turning on places of her body that she didn't think could work again (after Harry left her), so she surrenders herself to him (without realizing it). So then, when she looses him and is stuck in the horrible situation of being with Malfoy she's just like... dead inside.

ahhh... I feel like I'm babbling. Just read:

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**6. The Dead Cold of Alone**

("You killed my future wife, you BASTARD!" Tom backed away from Blaise slightly before raising his wand, "For that, I am afraid you must die. AVADA KEDAVRA!" A jet of green light flew from the tip of Tom's wand and hit Blaise squarely in the chest. The young man fell to the ground. Tom leaned down and ripped the necklace off of his now dead body, turning into a mass of black smoke, before flying away.)

Pools of silver light shone through the windows of the cottage when Ginny woke. The thick mass of fire that crumpled about her face was no match for the chilly air and she shivered, running her hands through her hair, pushing it out of her face. The hard ground beneath her body had confused her before she realized she was on the floor... alone.. in the dark... in Malfoy's house. She inwardly groaned.

When Ginny and Malfoy witnessed Blaise's horrifying demise, he had promptly stomped upstairs to his room and she had fainted after a few discerning thoughts ran through her head. Things like: _'This is all my fault... I'm not welcome here, I should leave before Malfoy kills me... Why does Tom Riddle want me so badly?... Blaise wouldn't be dead if he didn't try to save me.'_ She thought about their kiss, about how caring his warm hands had been when he carried her through the woods, how his eyes could root her to the spot, sending chills down her spine and making her stomach flip-flop.

Her body shut down while she thought, her limbs going numb until her legs couldn't hold her up anymore and her brain completely shut down. Finally landing her on the hard wood floor, crumpled into a mass of red hair and cold, dark robes.

But now, her body was over the initial shock. Now all she could feel was loss and depression, she was totally broken and had no one to blame except herself. A hole had been punched out of her torso leaving her utterly cold and aching, a part of her that Blaise had infiltrated in only two short days, and when he died, he took that part of her with him. Not even bothering to sit up, Ginny curled herself into a ball, hiding the hole from the world and letting the first of her tears dribble down her face and to the floor. She couldn't sleep, but instead rocked herself back and forth, the same way he did, when she was in his arms.

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Malfoy paced in his room, back and forth and back and forth, his feet moving habitually as he thought out his situation. The youngest of the Weasley clan was encroaching on his personal sanctuary by coming to him. He guessed that it wasn't entirely her fault, but Draco was not about to blame his closest, and most recently dead, friend for his shortcomings. 

He thought quickly, trying to come up with a plan of action. Something that would result in him being alone here again, and Ginny being somewhere else, but (unfortunately) not dead. There was a small basement he could lock her in, but the screaming would probably drive him crazy. He could take her back to the burrow, but they would both die trying to get there. A smirk stretched across his hard pale face as he thought of just kicking her out. Telling her to up and leave; that she was not wanted here and could go live outside where the scum of the world belonged. He could still intercept a dark witch or wizard coming their way, she could have a bit of... freedom, and he would have the house to himself.

Malfoy sifted through this plan only twice when he realized it was selfish, and uncivil. No matter where the weasel had come from, or what she had done, she was still a person... not a stray cat. Blaise had died trying to keep her safe, so kicking her out now would be like a swift blow to the head and a fuck-you to his memory. Slytherin men never betrayed their friends, _especially _if they died.

The pale moon was setting as Malfoy's stomach growled at him. He had been avoiding the first floor of the cottage all night, afraid of what he might find down there. His body shook as the thought of Blaise's body ran through his train of thought, but quickly recovered, shoving the memory from his mind and replacing it with thoughts of eggs and bacon. Feet practically gliding, Malfoy moved with as much dexterity as a snake through the hallway of the second floor, pausing at the stairs before softly floating down them.

He had expected to see Weasley looking out the window, the way he left her. But when she wasn't there he shifted his gaze to all the obvious places: the couch, a chair, the fouton in the study. She was nowhere to be seen. The bathroom door was open, and the light was off, he quickly eliminated that room. He strode to the study, carefully glancing over every surface before turning around and looking, once again to the window.

What? His eyes squinted to focus in the dark as he spotted a mass of black quivering under the window. He watched her small body rock back and forth on the ground, directly below where he had expected to see her. The table blocked his view from the stairs but from this angle she was clearly visible. Her hair was a matted mess in front of her face, which was damp with tears that had dripped onto the floor, leaving a moist spot on the wood. She was clutching onto herself, barely breathing, eyes closed, her bottom lip trembling.

Malfoy closed his own eyes and turned away from the display of despair before him. He thought she was using his love for her own benefit, but by the way she was acting, he quickly changed his mind. He gritted his teeth in frustration. _'This makes it so much harder to hate her.'_ What in the hell was he supposed to do with her? She was an absolute mess! Should he try to move her, or was it better to leave her there? His internal struggle lasted only a minute before he strode over to her and crouched down, brushing her hair away from her face.

She flinched at his icy touch, and her eyes flew wide open staring him straight in the face, a look of panic clearly visible on her own. He pulled his hand away as though she had burned him, and stood up.

"Get off the floor, Weasely. If you're planning on staying here you'll have to give up your poor habits and actually sleep in a bed for once in your life." he couldn't help the words, but there was no malice behind them, his usual mocking tone was drowned by his pity.

She watched him silently, hearing the emotions drip through the cracks in his words. Her spine cracked as she slowly sat up, then stood, leaning one hand on the table for support.

"I don't need your pity, Malfoy," her lip trembled "We both know you don't want me here. Make things easier for yourself and kick me out before I become a burden." She suggested this as though it was something she wanted. Sure, they both felt as though she deserved to die for what had happened to Blaise, but what surprised Draco was that her feelings were stronger than his, she wanted revenge on herself more than he did.

His face hardened. It was so god-damn selfish! How dare she suggest going against Blaise's final request to 'behave herself'!!

"You are such a bloody selfish bitch!" he gritted his teeth for effect, "Blaise _wanted _you here, and you're right! It doesn't make me happy, I don't want you here. You're a snappy, poor, sniveling, little blood-traitor. You're the reason MY DAD is DEAD RIGHT NOW, and why The Dark Lord THREATENED MY MUM'S LIFE LAST YEAR!! YOU should have a little more GOD-DAMMED _RESPECT_ for the dead, and the SACRIFICES they made for YOU!!" his face was no longer the calm pale of his youth. Twisted in agony, and red from screaming he turned from her, stomping in the kitchen and pulling out a pan to cook on. When there were no eggs in the fridge he slammed the pan against the counter several times, breaking the tile and denting the pan.

Ginny watched in terror as he took out his anger on the helpless span of blue and white tile, letting full, plump tears roll over the hills of her cheek before annoyingly resting in the crevices of her frown. Swatting them away, she stepped towards him.

"I didn't kill your father." it was barely audible above his heavy breathing, but he heard her and promptly turned ghost white and swirved to look at her. His eyes were a shade of hate she had never before seen in her life, and his stance made him look ready to kill.

"Don't fucking lie to me, weasel." he growled through clenched teeth, his jaw set in a strong, hard line. "I saw you sitting over his body..."

"He fell on me! I... I was just..." she remembered how he had caught her, "I was just closing his eyes." she muttered, thinking of Blaise's eyes, hoping his were closed.

"YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE TOUCHED HIM!!" his anger was confusing, what was she missing from this equation?

"I'm sorry. I'm... it's just... I couldn't... there was no way I was going to leave him like that." She remembered his eyes, the way they mocked death, even in their terror.

"He hated you." Malfoy was suddenly calmer, something dangerous was coming, "He hated you because of your poor, disgusting family. He hated how Potter loved you, he never wanted The Chosen One to be happy. But, he mostly hated you because of the attention the Dark Lord gave you." Ginny gasped but Malfoy continued, "Yes, Weasley, You-Know-Who was planning to take you from the day he met you. He fell in love with your power," he slowly raked his eyes up and down her body, "and your looks." Ginny took a step forward, blushing from fear and something else as she reached for the doorway to support her.

"This disgusted my father, and he quickly fell out of favor once he made his opinion clear. You see, my fate was more aligned with you than you think." he drawled, "and if you think, after all the months of disagreeing with his master about how _filthy_ you are, that my father would want you to touch him... even for a brief second... even as a kind gesture, you are grossly wrong." The air was so thick, Ginny could hardly breath. The world was slowly slipping away.

"Don't fucking faint in front of me!" he yelled across to her, making her eyes snap wide. She recovered quickly, her posture straight as an arrow as she walked over to him and smacked him in the face, the sound echoing through the kitchen, bouncing off of the tile mercilessly, her hand leaving an angry red welt on his cheek.

He flexed his jaw for a moment, bringing his hand up to feel the warm spot where his skin was burning from the harsh impact before grabbing her arms and shoving her back into the counter, drawing a squeal out of her parted lips. But he didn't relent. He squeezed his strong hands around her tiny upper arms as hard as he could, pressing her back into the counter with his body and shaking her until she screamed in pain, her face almost as red as her hair. He intended to scare her more than hurt, she would have bruises but they would heal.

Ginny looked at the floor below her, trying to compose herself. She would not let the ferret see her cry, but she was too angry to cry, so she straightened herself out and looked him dead in the eye, ignoring the wet, warm sensation that was trickling down her back and legs. She took one step towards him, before cringing in pain and stopping. He stared at her, obviously confused.

The pain in her back was too much, she bit her bottom lip and reached behind, feeling the spot where it hurt. Her hand was covered in blood, far too much blood to be healthy. She looked from her crimson hand to Malfoy, as he looked from her to the counter behind her, which was broken in a sharp jagged way, and stained red.

"Shit." His brow furrowed as he looked back at her hand, then at her face, in her eyes, his own flashing with worry. Ginny fell to her knees, wincing when her back stretched, more blood pouring out of the deep cut. Malfoy watched her fall before walking away. She saw his shoes in the living room before loosing consciousness.

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**A/N: **ooooookkkk. So, what do you think?! I promise Ginny won't die. hahahaaa. yeah. umm... review? please? I'll love you forever! Flames more than welcome!!! Bring it onnnnn. I'll probably update either tomorrow or on Saturday:D


	7. For Now

**Disclaimer**: I **do **own my share of interesting characters. Unfortunately, none of them star in this fic.

**Warnings:** _HDH Spoilers!,_ language, violence, fluff, eventual under-age drinking & drugs(?) and eventual sex scenes

**A/N:** Yes, I am still repenting for killing Blaise. I swear I adore him... if it isn't evident that I think he's really sexy, maybe I need help with conveying sexiness!? it's a possibility I am willing to work with. THANK YOU TO ALL OF MY REVIEWERS!! I love you all to death... really, I do! Without you, my self-confidence, and this fic would probably cease to exist!

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7. For Now

("Shit." His brow furrowed as he looked back at her hand, then at her face, in her eyes, his own flashing with worry. Ginny fell to her knees, wincing when her back stretched, more blood pouring out of the deep cut. Malfoy watched her fall before walking away. She saw his shoes in the living room before loosing consciousness.)

Draco ran as fast as his swift legs would carry him, to the bathroom. He nearly ripped the door off the cabinet above the sink in search of a potion. Using magic too soon after Blaise was found here would be a mistake, there was no doubt in Malfoy's head that Death Eaters were patrolling the forest for Ginny, searching for traces of magic. He grabbed at several green bottles before finding the right one.

A vial of yellow liquid clutched in his hand, he made his way back to the fallen girl in his kitchen. A thick pool of blood soaked through her robes and puddled on the floor, her face pressed into the ground from the fall.

There was no time to spare as Draco pulled a pocket knife from the folds of his robes and cut open the offending fabric covering Ginny's back. The cut wasn't so deep. But there were more than one, his shaking her had allowed the sharp edge of the shattered counter to break her skin multiple times, some lines were merely scratches... but most were pretty deep.

Draco ran his hand along the smooth skin of her back, gently caressing, before standing and remembering that cleaning a wound is the first step to healing it. Wetting one towel and leaving a second dry, he knelt next to her small, motionless frame and dabbed softly, cleaning her cuts, and applying pressure to the deeper ones to stop the bleeding.

The second towel came in handy when the Murtlap Essence simply rolled off Ginny's inflamed skin and onto the floor. Pouring the potion on the towel, Draco delicately dabbed at her skin, waiting for the slightest of reactions. He sighed in relief, a breath he wasn't aware he was holding, as the smallest of cuts began to heal before his eyes.

Gently lifting her limp body into his strong arms, he carried her up the stairs into the spare bedroom, the one Blaise usually used, and gently laid her down on her stomach. How could he have been so careless? Letting his anger get the best of the situation, Draco forced himself to breath. She was going to be fine. Maybe a scar or two... but nothing serious. He poured the rest of the potion on the towel and put it on Ginny's back before going back down to the kitchen to clean the mess her blood had left.

It was strange how her blood looked so similar to his own, it looked the same as any blood he had ever seen. Yet, it was different. Pounded into his young mind was the distinction between classes. His father had taught him that the Malfoy name was far higher in status than the Weasley name, that they were poor economically as well as socially. They were unintelligent blood-traitors, the worst kind of wizards, and killing them off before they bred some more was a top-priority.

Yet, seeing her blood pooled on his kitchen floor brought him no satisfaction. In fact, he cringed at the thought of her freckled skin turning cold with death, her eyes void of the spark that defined her, her sweet breath stilled behind her lips. Draco licked his lips at the thought of hers, before mentally slapping himself. It was one thing to save a Weasley's life, but to love one would be unforgivable.

And so, he left his mind blank while he mopped up the perhaps, not so treacherous blood.

* * *

She was in his arms. Warm, strong, and protective as he cuddled her close to his chest in the dark. They were in the forest, laying among the trees on a bed of moss. Ginny could have cared less where she was, as long as she was with him. His spicy cinnamon scent, and dark erotic eyes making her weak and helpless under his gaze. Blaise tenderly brushed her blushing cheek with the back of his fingers, stroking her into insanity. He kissed her softly, suckling her bottom lip before squeezing her to his body and falling asleep. 

But when Ginny woke, the forest was cold, and pitch black. She stood and cried out for Blaise, but there was no reply. He had left her alone and defenseless in a place she did not know. She gasped as she felt _him_ before she saw his startling green eyes. He approached her, like a predator stalking his helpless prey and stood dangerously close as he breathed in her scent. Tom Riddle cupped her cheek softly, but his touch was cold and void of what she felt with Blaise, so she turned away from him.

But there was no escaping the Dark Lord. He always got what he wanted, and right now, she was what he wanted. He grabbed her shoulders and turned her to face him, his lips crashing roughly against hers. Ginny slapped him hard across the cheek and stumbled backwards, away from him. But he changed, morphed into his adult form, Lord Voldemort stood before her, his wand drawn and pointed straight at her face.

She screamed out for Blaise, but it was no use. She felt a sudden cold and then nothing before jolting awake.

_'Where am I?_' she thought. She never slept on her stomach, so it was odd to be in this position. It was also very odd that she was very warm, and surrounded by Blaise's smell. She inhaled, her nose pressed against a pillow before confirming that it smelled exactly like him. She tried to get up, but a nagging pain on her lower back prevented her from moving. _'Oh yeah...'_ she remembered... 

There was a crash to her left and the door swung open, as Malfoy bounded through the door way out of breath. He saw her eyes, nearly popping out of her head in shock and terror.

"I was just... outside," he breathed heavily, "and I heard a... heard screaming... and I thought you were..." She watched the transgression of emotions roll off his face and smirked. So, did the ferret feel guilty? He recovered from his moment and continued, "What in the bloody hell were you screaming for?"

Ginny blushed at her childish antics, "I had a nightmare." she barely whispered, embarrassed that she had caused such a stir, "Sorry." She moved to sit up, but he was instantly at her side, pressing her back down with a hand on her shoulder.

"You should stay in bed, some of your.. ah, cuts need more time to heal." _'So,'_ Ginny thought, _'he does feel guilty.'_

"I wouldn't have them in the first place, if you had kept your temper in check." It was more than a statement of fact, it was an taunting accusation.

"If _I_ had kept _my_ temper in check? I believe it was you who smacked me first!!" She was unbelievable. How could she possibly pin the entire situation on him? It was simply absurd.

"_I_ didn't leave any permanent scars on _you_, did I?" she was at the line, and wasn't sure if crossing it was a good idea in her current position.

"I didn't **mean** to do it! Who do you think I am? Trust me, if I had meant to hurt you, it would be worse than this," his lips contorted into a dark smirk, "I always treat women with respect, though. You see, I was raised properly, unlike _someone_ I know..."

"You've never treated me with any respect." mumbled words tumbled out of her lips before she could stop them, damn her argumentiveness to hell!

"You're a Weasely." And with that, he left. She humphed in a very girlish, yet undignified way before cuddling back up into the last remains of Blaise's physical self, and drifting into an effortless sleep.

* * *

He was almost finished when her screams interrupted his work. But suddenly, nothing else mattered. He had sprinted up to her room -- Blaise's room -- knocking over a vase before practically kicking the door in. But she had been fine, a nightmare she explained. Her spirit seemed in tact, she was back to arguing with anything that he said, and even tried to get up. Though, he couldn't allow her downstairs just yet. 

(**A/N:** don't kill meeee... )

Blaise had washed ashore. After Voldemort killed him, his body had been left on the beach while high tide crept in and pulled him away. However, the ocean didn't keep him. And it only took Draco moments to notice his friend's lifeless form lying on the shore while he was mopping up the mess in the kitchen.

He solemnly walked outside, towards the body. He couldn't just leave him there! It would be scandalous for a Slytherin to leave their best mate in a disgraceful grave, or none at all. So, Draco dug him one. He would have liked to be buried here... among the dunes and shells. Blaise always loved the sea.

The piercing scream interrupted his task in the middle, the grave was very nearly done... and now as he set back to his work, he was glad for Ginny's injuries. Glad that she didn't have to witness this. He slowly lowered his friend's cold corpse into the grave he so laborously dug and filled it back over with the sand that had been displaced. He wouldn't cry, Blaise wouldn't have wanted to see his friend so distraught. So instead, he let his fury boil inside of him and walked back inside.

* * *

When Ginny woke it was nearly dark, and she was nearly famished. Her stomach had woken her up, first the sound of it grumbling furiously and then the hunger pains. Ginny knew what these were immediately, having starved herself in her 5th year to be skinnier. Although she still cursed her slight curves, they were something she had to accept, not even the most complex of diet charms could flatten out her figure. _'When was the last time I ate?'_ Ginny thought back, further than she thought she would have to. A dinner at Hogwarts popped into her mind. 

She cringed and flipped herself over, onto her back and sat up in the dark room, throwing the sweaty covers off. Slowly rotating her torso, she swung her legs over the edge of the bed, and planted her feet softly on the ground. Her cuts had mostly healed, and didn't really hurt anymore, so she almost forgot about them until she stood up and felt a rush of very cold air hit her back. She hadn't realized until now, that her entire backside was exposed, a large tear allowing her skin to peek through.

Grumbling something about "Treating women with respect my ass..." she relieved herself of the heavy garment, and shivered while looking through drawers for a new one. Quite luckily Blaise had left lots of robes here, as though he was planning on staying for a holiday. And, although they were all embroidered with the Slytherin crest, Ginny pulled one over her body, letting her eyes water at thought of Blaise never being able to wear these robes again, and cautiously padded down the stairs to the kitchen.

She opened the fridge to find minimal food: Half a loaf of bread, a jug of butterbeer, a very gross looking green lump (which Ginny assumed is cheese), and three apples.

What had Malfoy been eating all this time? No wonder he was grumpy! She half-heartedly grabbed an apple and munched on it thoughtfully, while walking towards the living room. It was a cozy little cottage, bigger than it appeared to be on the outside, possibly by some sort of magic. She flopped down on a large, rather puffy chair and waited for Malfoy to discover she was no longer in her room. He was going to look so silly! She could see his face turning an obtuse shade of pink, while he stormed around the house looking for her displaced and obviously no-longer injured body.

However, it was only a few minutes later that her no-longer injured body snapped to attention and her head swiveled to her right as she heard heavy footfalls on the front stairs. Who could possibly be calling now? Who even knew about this place? Had someone discovered where she was? Ginny trembled in fear as the door creaked open and a large figure stepped inside. Her first instinct was to throw her apple core at him, her second was to throw the table. She opted for neither as she spotted a wand on the table she had bent to pick up and stood, pointing the thing at the intruder.

"STOP WHERE YOU ARE!" she bellowed, more furiously than she felt. The hand that held the wand was quivering, as she heard a low chuckle emanate from his mouth.

"Ginerva Weasley, you are too much." he spoke, reaching up to pull the hood of his cloak off his very light colored head.

"_Malfoy!_ God-dammit you scared me half to death!" she lowered the wand as he walked towards her, grabbing the object smirking at her disheveled state.

"I thought I told you to rest."

"There's no way I'm going to listen to the orders of a ferret, thank-you very much. I think I know my body better than you. I'm all healed up." He turned to sit on the couch, "What were you doing outside anyway?"

"None of your business." He was in a rather snotty mood, as per usual.

Ginny snorted. "Fine. Well, what are we going to eat... because there's really nothing in the fridge and we can't use magic..."

"I was thinking maybe I could kill you, and eat your face for dinner. How would you like that?"

"You're sick." she grimaced

"True, that is quite a disgusting idea. You probably wouldn't taste good at all." He found it very entertaining to have someone around who was offended so easily.

Her face was set in determination to win this argument, "I'm inclined to believe otherwise. I think I would taste very good."

"Are you asking me to taste you?" he chided, very aware of the insinuation.

"No." she blushed and looked down, how did he catch her in that trap so easily? She had walked herself straight into it in her haste. He realized her discomfort, and for once didn't take advantage of it. Besides, she had asked a valid question which he hadn't answered yet,

"I've been catching fish and things, gathering clams and crabs to eat. It gets boring, but there's nothing else..."

"Do you want me to help?" she perked up instantly, hungry for acceptance, as well as physically.

"It's too dark out now," he nodded towards the window, "We'll have to wait until tomorrow."

She nodded in agreement.

Tomorrow they would go fishing, and hopefully catch enough to satisfy her Weasley appetite. But for now, they would sit in each other's company. Because despite their obvious loathing, it was nice to have someone to talk to.

* * *

**A/N:** So... I didn't end this one all cliffy on you, and I know I said that I was going to update by Saturday, but this chapter was really hard for me for some reason. I feel like it's not very good, it was practically forced out of me. But, for me, it still is Saturday. I haven't gone to sleep yet... and even so. I'm only 40 minutes past the deadline. Oh well, let me know what you think... good or bad, any question, comment, observation, hypothesis, or correction is fine with me:D 


	8. Pure Blood Tastes So Good

**Disclaimer**: Almost everything belongs to Jo... I just like to play around with her toys. It's very nice of her to share though!

**Warnings: **_HDH Spoilers!,_ language, violence, fluff, eventual under-age drinking & drugs(?) and eventual sex scenes

**A/N: **This chapter was a task... sorry it took soo long! I made it longer and (sort of) fluffier, with more bad language and stuff like that. So... yeah. THANKS TO MIS AMIGAS (or amigos) WHO REVIEWED!! I Love you all in the deepest part of my teeny tiny heart!

**Key: DM**: Draco's POV, **GW**: Ginny's POV. I'll note it _before _the POV changes.

* * *

8. Pure Blood Tastes So Good

(Tomorrow they would go fishing, and hopefully catch enough to satisfy her Weasley appetite. But for now, they would sit in each other's company. Because despite their obvious loathing, it was nice to have someone to talk to.)

GW

The sky was black as a thousand midnights down on a cypress swamp, the air cold as the darkness it dwelled in. Warm puffs of air escaped from each mouth in the house, small clouds of breath, the only sign of life.

Ginny couldn't sleep. She was restless in her bed, dreaming of Blaise before waking up and then thinking about him.

Conversation had instantly halted the moment his name was dropped. Just a comment, an innocent complaint about the weather. Ginny whined about how cold she was and Draco countered her, "Blaise likes the cold, probably because he's always so god damn hot."

It slipped from his lips before he even realized what he was saying. Quickly remembering that Blaise was now permanently cold, and permanently in the past tense. She gasped and he winced when their brains comprehended what had been spoken, and an awkward silence descended upon the two. That was when he decided it was time for bed.

But she couldn't sleep.

Her skin embraced the chilly air without grace, standing on end to form goose-bumps as she shivered, slipping out of bed and walking towards the bathroom. She'd had a cup of water before bed, and was now forced to deal with the consequences of digesting liquids. Softly, her marble-cold feet glided down the hallway and froze further as they made contact with the icy tile floor. Her hands fidgeted nervously, as though she was afraid of being caught when she sat down on the seat, equally as cold as the floor.

(**A/N:** I don't really think it's necessary to write in what people do on the toilet... I'll leave that to your imagination, if you require further description/narration.)

When Ginny stood, the mirror above the sink reflected a pale half-moon and she smiled at the friendly form, before turning her gaze to her own pale reflection. She looked a mess. Her beautiful mane of red locks tangled into knotty clumps, bruises from the battle along the edges of her jaw and down her neck, dark circles under her eyes, and skin so pale that her freckles stood out, as if they were ink splattered across her cheeks.

Splashing cold water on her face and drying it on the edge of her -- no, Blaise's -- robes, she looked up again, frowned and walked to the door. Standing in it's frame she studied the hallway. Draco's light was on, and it sounded like he was pacing back and forth. Next to his door sat a single table with one drawer, probably full of random knick knacks and junk, a vase of flowers perched on top, quite odd for a bachelor beach pad. And, another door at the end of the hallway.

When Ginny's eyes fell upon that door, she couldn't stop looking at it. _'I haven't been in there yet... I wonder...?' _Her curiosity got the better of her as she walked the few feet standing between her and the answer. But jiggling the handle, found that the answer was locked up. _'Humph... figures.'_ she thought, before turning to face Malfoy's door.

She wanted to walk up and knock on it's solid form, but noticed his pacing had stopped, his light turned off... he was apparently attempting sleep. Ginny sighed, wishing she could do the same and turned to walk back to her room. She hadn't moved a foot before strong, cold hands closed around her shoulders brusingly tight before releasing her a second later, seemingly in recognition of whose shoulders they grasped.

"Why are you awake?" Malfoy hissed, "you shouldn't be sneaking around at night! I could have killed you..."

"I had to go to the bathroom." There was no point in arguing right now. Ginny felt like shit, and couldn't handle his antics right now. She didn't even turn around to look him in the eye before she kept walking.

She could have been mistaken, but thought she heard a defeated, "Oh." escape his mouth before she closed her door. She heard his door close, before she lay in bed, eyes closed, feigning sleep... hoping she could trick herself into actually getting some.

* * *

DM

The waves collapsed upon the shore rocks with unending force, and Draco woke up with a massive headache. Why did he drink an entire bottle of firewhisky last night? _'Why did I drink at all?'_

Draco rewound his brain to last night... Blaise. Oh god, the look in that small, helpless weasel's eyes when he mentioned Blaise, she nearly broke his heart. Quite an accomplishment, seeing as he didn't have a soft spot for weakness or compassion. He did, however, value loyalty. And in this case, mourning was close enough to loyalty to trigger his emotions.

Of course he wasn't about to let her know of his own weaknesses. A potentially hazardous move like that could land him on his arse in the middle of the chilly beach, while she took over his cottage. She had to know that he was a man, and a strong one at that, who would not tolerate insubordinance.

Draco pulled his heavy limbs out of bed and loudly stumbled in a half-asleep-pounding-headache sort of way out his bedroom door and into the bathroom. He relieved himself, and turned to the shower, rotating its dial to the hottest of temperatures before slipping past the curtain into the streaming water.

He sighed in pleasure as the pelting droplets massaged his skin, warming his freezing extremities, soothing his sore muscles. Turning round to lather his scalp with shampoo, Draco felt the water grow warmer and smiled at his luck... he loved hot showers. But when the temperature suddenly shot up another 15 degrees he screamed, hands darting towards small dial, turning it down while knocking over the shampoo. Sighing as the water returned to normal, he picked up the bottles and placed them gingerly on their shelves... there was no use in being angry at soap.

He heard a knock on the door.

"Malfoy?" he didn't think _she _would be awake at this hour, of course, he could have just woken her up. She had to be exhausted, and he willed her to go back to sleep. God knows there was no time for rest during her run from the Dark Lord, and the only time she slept while in the cottage was after she fainted, and the two hours while her back was healing. Her voice came to his ears again, softly probing for a reply, "Malfoy?" But, Draco did not answer. Because he didn't have to, _'She's not my mother for God's sake!"_

She knocked again, slightly insistent, very forcefully and noticeably worried. "Malfoy?! Are you in there?" She was getting carried away with assumptions. _'Rightfully so,' _he pondered her recent history, _'She's going to be a nuisance, isn't she?'_ He turned off the water, and deftly wrapped a towel around the lower half of his body while stepping out of the shower. Letting the water drip over the rest of his body he violently rammed open the door and bore a hole into her forehead with his stare, casually leaning on the door frame.

"Is there a problem, Weasel?" He inwardly smirked at her reaction, reading her like a children's book: Slightly stunned at his sudden appearance, blushing at his state, and brows creased in aggravation.

She backed away. "Um, no... Well, not with me... but I... You..." she stammered, unable to concentrate on her words, her head was swimming... no, drowning. Luckily there wasn't much room in the hallway, and when her back hit the small table, her mind swam to the surface, "Well, you're alright now. So, I'll just go then." She really did mean to move, but he had her tied down, rooted to the spot with his gaze and she found it quite hard to breath, drawn in by his fiercely cold eyes.

He smirked something evil before stepping out of the bathroom, entirely too close to Ginny for either of their own good, and striding into his room slamming the door behind him. He had to physically restrain himself from laughing, at Ginny's reaction to his authoritative, and slightly suggestive behavior, and quietly got dressed.

* * *

GW

Ginny wasn't breathing. She knew she wasn't breathing, but she didn't know how to start again. _'What if I faint? What if I die?! BREATHE!!' _She urged her lungs to pull in air but they simply were not cooperating, and her body promptly sunk to the ground when she became dizzy. Thankfully enough, movement was enough to pull her out of shock and make her mind start up again.

Asking wasn't going to help deny the facts. She knew what caused her momentary lapse of brain function... Malfoy. He came so close to her that the bare, wet skin of his arm brushed against her hand. It was such a slight action that he probably didn't even notice, but she did. She felt every millimeter of the smooth skin that glided across the backs of her pointer and middle finger. Remembering the touch, she closed her eyes and shivered.

Could she actually be feeling for the awful Draco Malfoy? The answer was a very plain **no.** She was delirious due to deprivation of food and sleep, and that was that. Malfoy was just a person with whom she had to share a space with. Nothing more. He was Malfoy, first and foremost, her enemy: in blood _and_ due to a few personal transgressions during her years at Hogwarts.

She picked herself up off the floor and walked downstairs in a huff. At least she had a one-up on him. What he didn't know was that the only reason she came to check on him was because it was her fault the water boiled over. After waking up she had to use the bathroom, but obviously found that the one upstairs was occupied. So, she used the downstairs one. After flushing the toilet she distinctly remembered what would happen if the pipes were connected, and sure enough, his scream came seconds later. She hurried up the stairs out of guilt, not concern... or dare-she-even-think-it, love.

She headed downstairs, in search of food, but after closing the refrigerator for the sixth time, Ginny concluded that there was nothing to be made for breakfast, and settled for a glass of water that tasted suspiciously salty. Not using magic was going to be harder than she thought. She trailed into the living room and flopped on the same chair she claimed last night, and closed her eyes... just for a second...

* * *

DM

When Draco finally traipsed down the stairs fifteen minutes after the impromptu meeting in the hallway, he half-expected her to be waiting for him, propped up in a chair, practically steaming with anger... possibly red-faced as well, like her idiot brother's face used to get when he was throughly ticked-off. Instead, he found her curled up like a kitten, soundly snoozing on his father's chair. _'If only she knew that the chair she prefers was a gift from my father...'_ he wouldn't dare tell her, lest he loose his own chair. But, it would a serve as a constant source of entertainment, driving her crazy with unpredictable chuckles, which would prove entertaining, no doubt.

He found himself studying her. Flaming red hair, actually laced with calmer copper tones, and her pale skin almost matched his... despite the freckles. Her body was small. Too small to be a Weasley, they were all tall gangly things, but the littlest wench was actually a civil height, and definitely too thin to be healthy. He remembered her being of average weight, bordering chubby, with a small toothed smile and over-developed breasts for her age.

Actually, her breasts is what he remembered most of her... especially from his 6th year. The Weaselette's blossoming _assets_ were common knowledge among the male population at Hogwarts. But she was unavailable... property of The Boy Who Gets Whatever He Bloody Well Wants.

But from the looks of her now, she had lost most of her body fat. Including her highly sought after breasts. Draco mentally shook himself... _'Have I honestly just been thinking about that girl's tits for the past five minutes?'_ he glanced over at her again, _'What a shame...'_

He strode over and shook her awake, furious at where her presence had lead his thoughts. "Wake up, Weasely!! Time to go fishing!" She groaned, rubbing fists against her eyes, slowly shaking her head side-to-side. "Aren't you excited?" he whispered.

That got her moving. She jerked up, arms flinging, obviously terrified of their sudden closeness and jumped off the chair. "You are absurd and insufferable." she quoted, veering herself away from him and towards the door.

"Just move. It's bad enough that I have to worry about you dying of hunger on my conscience, but now I have to deal with your attitude? Shut up and get outside." There was **no way** a Weasely was going to insult him, inside his own home, and get away with it. He would make sure that her day reflected his, and if she decided to make him miserable, she would have to suffer the same.

* * *

GW

Ginny was fuming. Walking down the dry steps that separated the cottage from the sandy shore, she balled her fists up in an attempt to seem calm. _'It only provokes him when you react.'_ she reminded herself. Malfoy threw her a net, which she caught... come on, being seeker for two years she had to have _some_ kind of hand-eye coordination... and led her onto the sharp rocks. 

"Is this really the best spot to fish, or can you only catch them when you sacrifice a virgin?" _'Sarcasm... haha perfect!'_ Ginny smirked to rival a Slytherin. Malfoy looked throughly confused, and oddly humored. It was almost as if she had said something incriminating... but what? _'Oh no.'_

"Are you offering yourself for that purpose?" he prodded, too casually.

"I most certainly am not." huffing and puffing, balancing on the jagged rock,

"Are you a virgin?" she turned around so fast that her feet almost slipped, "because, you know, if you are, I might actually have a use for you." The evil spawn-of-Lucius started walking towards Ginny as her face turned an awful shade of red.

"Don't you DARE! Slimy... twisted... FERRET!" he had come within half a foot of her when he pressed his finger against her lips, silencing her fit of screaming. He leaned in, breath brushing her neck bringing prickles of goosebumps to the surface.

"I wouldn't dream of touching a pathetic piece of trash like you Weasley. Don't worry, my intentions were only to use you as bait." He stepped back to a proper distance before wiping his finger on the hem of his shirt as though through touching her he would contract disease, and nonchalantly threw his net into the foamy sea.

Ginny stood stock-still, _'Why did that hurt so badly?'_ How was she supposed to survive in a place where the only other human contact was a Malfoy, who was seemingly bent on pushing her buttons until she broke? _'I'm a Weasley God-dammit! I'm not just going to sit back and let that stuck-up idiot insult me! DO SOMETHING!'_ So she did. 

As soon as Malfoy bent over to pull his net in, Ginny kicked him squarely in the middle of his bum, right off the edge of the rocks. He fell into the waves with a satisfying _plop_, causing a mischievous giggle to burst forth from her lips. The celebratory mood was short-lived, as Malfoy surfaced and shot her the most menacing look in the history of her entire life. He swam to shore and stomped his way to her, never faltering, and never taking his eyes off of her. _'Ohhhh shit...'_ there wasn't much time for thought after that. Malfoy grabbed her by the waist, and threw her into the tide yelling at her on the way down,

DM

"DON'T COME BACK WEASEL!! DON'T YOU DARE EXPECT ME TO FORGIVE YOU!" He yelled the last bit as he stormed towards his cabin, a net full of crabs in his wake, "STAY THE FUCK AWAY..." He looked around for her, expecting a blow to the head. _'Well, at least she's doing a good job of staying away. But, where exactly...'_ her fiery mane was clearly visible bobbing towards the shore, arms outstretched, swimming. He watched her crawl ashore, amused at her predicament. She obviously had no where to go, so there was no choice but to beg for his forgiveness.

He squinted at her trembling form, waiting for her to get up, defeated, and come to him. But she didn't. Leave it to a Weasely to be unpredictable as all hell, Ginny stood up, blood from an obvious gash staining the side of her face, and walked towards the forest. She stopped short, probably realizing the forest wasn't safe, and turned fully around. She stomped to the edge of a wide mouthed cave on the edge of the beach and ducked inside, never once looking back at him or the cottage. 

Draco chuckled to himself _'She won't last more than a few hours out there before she comes knocking on my door.'_ He was right. The weather was freezing at night, and the wet air in that cave wouldn't help. She hadn't eaten in probably two or three full days, and her body was physically exhausted. There was no way Ginny Weasely would be able to stay out there all day. But, would her physical health be enough for her to swallow her pride?

GW

Ginny didn't know what to do! Malfoy, the blonde piece of shit, had thrown her out of his house... quite angrily. Her head was pounding, when he tossed her into the ocean, a rock collided with her head causing her to see spots. On the bright side, the rock shelter she found had a spectacular view. Ginny let her legs collapse and slide to the ground. She was back at the beginning, right where she started. But now, instead of soft warm moss, she was laying on damp cold rocks.

There was no way she could just stay there, laying like a helpless pile of crap. She needed food, and a fire. There were no excuses, the sun was shining brightly and it was only noon-ish, low-tide, and she knew how to collect scallops and muscles off of the rocks from when her Great Auntie Muriel took her on beach trips as a child. Ginny walked out into the dazzling sun, stretching her arms up over her head before assessing the best location to begin the search for food.

Deciding on a flat looking rock, she crouched down in the low waves and began chiseling off potential muscles with a jagged piece of a discarded shell.

Lost in her work, Ginny didn't stop collecting shells until her hand started aching, and looking down she noticed why. Several angry looking blisters had popped up along her thumb-line and across her palm. But she had _plenty_ of food for now. With a sigh she collected her findings in the folds of her robe and carried them back to her cave. Now they had to be de-shelled, washed and cooked. _'Oh shit... fire.'_ Right. Because without magic, Ginny had no idea how to start a fire.

"Well, the Japanese eat this stuff raw, right?" she convinced herself out loud, "I suppose it's not that big of a deal."

But, oh, it _was_ a big deal. The meat inside those shells was tough and slimy, sliding down her throat with sickening ease and landing in the very core of her stomach as if daring her to actually attempt digestion. The meal left her nauseous, and unsatisfied as she leaned against the cold wall. At least she had eaten something, lest she whither away, and was now beginning to feel the effects of a full stomach.

It was a struggle to keep her eyes open, her head frequently lolled to the side. And after a long battle against her body she let her eyes flutter closed, and for the first time in a long time she fell asleep.

* * *

Blues and greens surrounded her. Just swirling blues... and greens, mostly greens in shades of jade or emerald, some darker forest greens... and there was a horrible rank smell... and OH! she was wet. Head to toe, dripping with slimy water. _'No.'_ she knew this place. 

Her eyes flew open to the sight of the mold on the stone ceiling. She wasn't supposed to remember this place, let alone be awake in it. She sat up slowly, afraid that sudden movements might mean her death, and was surprised to see him standing there, just observing her.

This was too close to reality, and yet, something was amiss. Something had gone terribly wrong. What's missing? _'HARRY!'_ She searched the floor around her, landing her eyes on the bloody frame of a dark-haired boy to her right. Yes, something **had** gone terribly, irreversibly wrong. A chuckle from Tom had her reeling.

"Glad to see you've finally come to, my sweet." he took a long stride towards her, crouching to her level, "you've been away for a while, but I've finally found you. I knew you couldn't hide for long!" A dark smile pulled at his face. It was unnatural and gross, watching the sweet, happiness float across his face. He knelt down in front of her, softly holding her head in his hands, caressing the back of her neck with his long fingers. "Ginerva." he breathed as he kissed her forehead.

"NO! Get _off_ me!" She pulled away from his touch and stood up, away from him. "What do you _want!?_"

"Isn't it obvious, my dear?" his brow wrinkled, "I want _you_." he stepped forward, "_All_ of you," another step, "Everyday," he was right in front of her, "For the rest of my life." He snaked an arm around her waist and pulled her to him, pressing his body against hers and leaning down to suckle the base of her neck. She couldn't help but moan, albeit in protest, but his mouth was skilled, Tom Riddle certainly knew what he was doing. He bit down into her soft flesh, drawing blood and sucking on the wound.

"Pure blood." He moaned and lifted his head to look into her eyes, "You taste so good."

She shakily backed away from him as his arm loosened. "Wake up Ginny Weasely, I've found you and now you're mine."

Ginny woke in a frenzy of thought. _'Holy SHIT... what was that about?'_ She stood and walked outside the cave. It was sometime during the night, most likely past midnight judging by the position of the moon, and it was freezing out. _'Wait a second...'_ She was drenched from head to toe.

"What the hell?" she stated to the moon, as she scratched her neck, "W-what?" her hand was spotted with blood from where she scratched.

The waves beat angrily against the rocks, she felt someone behind her, _'Malfoy.'_ she thought, swinging around to face him, but gasping heavily as he spoke.

"What else did you expect, Ginevra? I am the most powerful wizard alive. Did you expect to hide from me for long?"

Ginny froze. Tom Riddle was walking towards her, ducking out of her cave with blood staining his lips.

* * *

**Inspiration for the first line came from 'The Creation' by James Weldon Johnson.**

**A/N:** I hope this chapter is to your satisfaction, oh lovely readers!! I spent quite a few hours (days) on this one... making it longer and juicier!! Also, no one's mentioned it, but... so far I have never really clearly marked when the POV changes from Draco to Ginny (until this chapter), I guess it's sort of obvious, but all in favor of me noting when the POV changes just drop me a note (or a ps in a review) and let me know! As per usual, any kind of comment or question welcome in my reviews... flames, or praises.

**ginervamalfoy1894**: sorry it took so long to update!

**xxxfire-faeriexxx**: i hope you liked the dream!

**Fall-Child-08**: yeah... it would have been nice for them to share, but do you really think either of them is the sharing type? Plus, they both got up on the wrong side of the bed and things just went downhill... :(

**darkroses2992**: I LOVE YOU. PERIOD. :D


	9. AN: Whattt?

**Chapter 9: My Father Stepped In**

...has been moved to the chapter 10 slot because of a stupid authors note that I wrote before chapter 9 was a twinkle in my eye.


	10. My Father Stepped In

**Disclaimer**: I am not JK. I live in a jersey suburb and own none of the characters. However, the plot is mine.

**Warnings: **language, violence, (eventual sex... this is taking me too long isn't it?)

**A/N: **I have been away for almost a year, and for that I am truly sorry. I sort of wrote myself into a corner, and it took me a while to find a way out. I had to change a few things in my mind for the future of the story and make it more... uhhh... not really predictable but whatever. That being said, I promise to try and fight to get this done. I locked myself in my room (after reading the _Twilight_ series... again)... and wrote away my boredom and anxiousness (I have a countdown going until _Breaking Dawn_: 24 DAYSSS!). I friggin love that book. goshhhiiizzle. Anywho, I wrote. You should read and try to enjoy. I'm also probably looking for a Beta. So, let me know.

**Key: DM**: Draco's POV, **GW**: Ginny's POV. I'll note it _before _the POV changes.

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**10. My Father Stepped In**

_(Ginny froze. Tom Riddle was walking towards her, ducking out of her cave with blood staining his lips.)_

The moon shone off his skin, pale as death even in youth.

"Tom." his name, barely a whisper, was almost inaudible to him. Ginny stumbled backwards, eyes glued open staring in awe of his presence. Gliding towards his pure-blooded prize, he wrapped strong hands around her wrists, applying minimal pressure, keeping her in place. Cool breath danced about her face, his so close to hers. Ginny's gasped in shallow tugs as he lowered his lips to hers.

Fire radiated off his supple pilgrims and caught her mouth on fire. Wrapping his arms around her shivering body, Tom held Ginny to him, pressing her against his cold torso, and she did not protest. Her eyes glassed over as he pulled his arms away, admiring her.

"You're so beautiful, love." He traced her jawline with his fingertips, and leaned in for another kiss. She melted into him and clutched at his arms hating herself so strongly for the way her body reacted to him. This was certainly not love, she didn't know what it was, but it was stronger than anything she'd ever felt before. Perhaps he was using her mind to cause the reaction, he knew how to get inside her thoughts...

"Tom." this time was uttered with more intensity. He pulled away from her and half-smiled when he started to fade away.

"It won't be long now. I'll find a body soon, and I can fulfill my plans for you... it won't be long..."

Gin's knees wobbled, but she would not fall. She was too strong-willed to fall. Somehow the message didn't get to her stomach as her potentially biohazardous dinner defied gravity and flew out of her mouth at an alarming rate, forcing her to fall down and kneel over the side of the rocks. How could she possibly want to be with him?! It was disgusting and wrong! Her body heaved, trying to rid itself of whatever evil seemed to reside inside until there was nothing left.

_'What just happened?'_ the image of her clinging to his deformed body came to the forefront of her mind, like a damp fog,_ 'That can never happen again!! I won't let it, I won't let it...'_ over and over again her mind played a rhythm of defiance against her body.

When it seemed that the worst was over, a flash of white to her right took her by surprise causing her to conjure all of her strength and shoot up to punch whatever it was. A crack and a second later, she felt paralyzing pain in her hand.

"JESUS GINNY!! What the bloody fucking hell are you doing?"

"M..Malfoy?" she winced.

**DM**

"Yeah, you trashy chit." He chuckled, "I'm assuming you have either very bad aim, or slightly worse vision because I'm sure you weren't intending on punching a pile of rocks."

"That depends on your definition of a pile of rocks." she ragged through clenched teeth.

Minutes earlier Draco witnessed Ginny talking to herself outside, and had a good laugh at it, before The Dark Lord in all his unholy and misty teenage form had shown up, and almost sucked the life out of the Weasel's face. Draco had to admit, he was too terrified to save her, and so it wasn't until he disappeared and she started retching that he ran outside.

"Well, it wouldn't be very proper of me to leave you out here now, would it?" he asked, slightly distastefully. His undertone didn't go unnoticed.

"What do you know about manners? You were raised by a racist pig..."

"Don't talk about him, you common piece of shit! I thought you learned that lesson already! I could leave you out here and let you die of your own causes, but that would be in total disregard for MY BEST FRIEND'S final wishes... " he paused for a few seconds, trying to compose himself, control his temper, "So, you're coming with me whether you like it or not." He almost made it without his trademark rudeness, "Even if I have to drag you all the way back and nail your face to the floor!"

"I guess you'll just have to drag me then, won't you?" She tried to get up and walk away, when his hands grasped around her waist, picked her up, and flung her over his shoulder knocking the breath straight out of her lungs in total disregard for her internal organs and self-respect. The feel of his warm hands around her waist made her stomach lurch, in a good way, and it was terrifying.

"PUT ME THE HELL DOWN, YOU WOMANIZER!! JUST BECAUSE YOU _CAN _PICK ME UP, DOESN'T MEAN THAT YOU _SHOULD_!! AHHHHHHHHHHH!" She screamed all the way to the front door and it wasn't until he threw her down onto a chair in the living room that she stopped. When his eyes met hers she was frozen, pinned down by the absolute terror she felt.

"Don't move." And she didn't. He turned and walked to the bathroom, banging a few things around before coming out with some ace bandages and Skele-Gro.

"I'm sure you know what this tastes like, so don't sass me about it being nasty. We both know that if you're going to be of any use to anyone you're going to need your hand, so just drink it."

He put the bottle on the table beside her before moving to examine her hand. Kneeling in front of her he tried to determine the exact damage she caused. Draco thoughtlessly pulled and poked her broken fingers with little to no sympathy, thinking of her as a science project.

Only when he felt something wet hit his arm did he look up to see she was biting her lip with enthusiasm, her brows were contorted in pain, eyes tightly closed. She was holding back most of her tears. A wave of disgust wound tightly around him, he was acting like his father.

He instantly released his grip and held the broken bones gingerly, caressing her fingers as he wrapped them in the bandage. Her hands were so small. Everything about her was small, and delicate... if she wasn't so spoiled he might find her attractive. '_Stop it._' he reprimanded himself, '_That's gross._.. _she's not **that **soft..._' but as he thought this his fingers absentmindedly drew small circles on her forearm.

"Ahem..." the Weasley coughed, "are you done?" her face was a bright red, probably from the pain, possibly from a reaction to him.

"For now." Draco let go and sat in the chair across from her, "You broke the proximal phalanges of your middle and ring fingers, and your proximal phalanx detached from the metacarpal which feels like it's been fractured, but not all the way, but still..."

She stared at him blankly, "Your middle and ring finger are broken, and your thumb is worse. You tucked your thumb into your fist to throw that punch didn't you?" She nodded slowly and he chuckled, "Thought so. You better drink that soon, otherwise the bones won't set properly."

"Right." she unscrewed the top and chugged down a fourth of the bottle, eyes watering heavily as the potion burned her throat all the way down to the pit of her stomach.

"Now this..." he handed her the Sleeping Draught

"I'm not... taking th..that." she pushed the bottle away, speaking through clenched teeth, her voice rough from the burning sensation.

"What?! Why not?"

She looked at him with defiance, "I don't need it. Plus, I don't want to be incapable of defending myself, especially around you."

"I don't think you have to worry about that. We both know I find you utterly appalling." Somehow, his statement cut straight through her, even though, of course she felt the same way about him. '_Appalling...yes. Simply disgusting... absolutely_.' she thought to herself in spite of him.

"Fine." She stared straight at him as she chugged **way **more than was necessary. Possibly more than she should have, "Are you happy now you stupid litt...?" and she crumpled to sleep.

"Fucking idiot. Too bad this stuff doesn't actually kill you." he said in response to her slowing breath. That would get rid of all his problems. But despite the thoughts of hatred, Draco found himself holding the girl in his arms, cradling her into his chest as he walked her upstairs, his hand lingering too long on her hip as he laid her down, his eyes wandering in far too many places.

"Fucking idiot" he murmured again as he walked out her door, although, this time he wasn't talking to her.

**GW**

When Ginny woke up the she instantly remembered everything... except getting up into this bed. She looked around the room, it was dark. The blinds were drawn and there was no light peeking from around the edges, so it was either nighttime or very early in the morning.

She slipped out of bed and walked out into the hallway. After one-handedly washing her fever-hot face, she snuck across the hall to Malfoy's door and listened for any sign that he was awake. The only sound she heard was the solid intake and exhale of his breath as he slept. She assumed it was early in the morning and decided to go back to sleep.

When Ginny woke up for the second time that morning she felt very strange. Something felt wrong. The air around her was much too thick and she was _frightened_? No, that wasn't the right word. _Suspicious_? That's closer.

When he eyes fluttered open, she understood why. Malfoy was standing across the room from her, watching the window with rigorous intent. His head snapped around when he noticed she was looking at him.

"Oh good. You're alive." He said this with as little enthusiasm as he could manage, but still barely fooled her. He obviously cared if he was waiting in her room. He walked over to her, sitting on the edge of the bed. "He's watching the house." he spoke too carefully, too calmly.

"He obviously can't see it. I mean... it's been very carefully hidden, magic too old for him to understand, and he's nothing more than a ghost, but he's still waiting for something. He can feel that you're near. The intensity of his instinct is fascinating."he was still staring at the window.

Ginny wished she could read his thoughts. Was it her fault that he was here? Did Malfoy blame her for his presence?

She shivered, "What does he want?"

Malfoy paused before answering her curiosity, "I don't think you want to know." He quickly amended with, "Even though it would make me very happy if you were uncomfortable."

Ginny was throughly confused. The lines that formed deep valleys in Draco's forehead confused her even more. This was bigger than she thought. She suddenly remembered something very obvious.

"Why are you hiding here?"

He looked at her like she was a very interesting map. A place he knew but couldn't quite navigate. "You are a very intuitive creature." he looked away trying to hide his trademark Malfoy smirk, "It's not a very interesting story." he glanced back up at her trying to gage how much he would have to tell her.

"Would it be enough if I told you that I ran from my inheritance. My father... he wanted things from me that I couldn't give him."

"But, he's de... he can't make you do anything you don't want to." She had almost reminded Malfoy that his father was dead, but turned away from the offensive adjective at the very last moment.

"This is bigger than life and death." he sighed, "At the end, my father began to doubt his master. He saw himself as a more suitable leader. As I'm sure you know, The Dark Lord was not from an ancient wizarding family such as both of ours," he pointed his finger at himself and then her nonchalantly, "he was the bastard child of a muggle. Father began to defy him, planning against him in the final hours of the battle. You were the catalyst. Do you remember?"

Ginny cringed, the battle wasn't a memory she wanted to revisit.

"Do you remember how my father died?" Draco stared at the wall ahead of him, and Ginny decided he was much too calm.

"No. I... I never saw, I don't... I didn't see him... die," What she did recall was being tortured with the Cruciatus curse, and the sudden dead body that trapped her beneath it.

"When The Dark Lord was going to kill you... my father stepped in..."

(**A/N**: Omnipresent POV)

_"My lord, I do not believe it wise to kill the only female Weasley. She could be of great... use to us." __Lucius __cooed in an unfamiliar purr trying to win his master over. The little red-head was twitching on the ground, and The Dark Lord whispered one last "Crucio" before looking up at Malfoy Sr._

_"And what use is that?" When he looked Malfoy in the eyes and had no further use for questions, he picked through the plans in __Lucius__'s mind, instantly teeming with anger. "Really?" he took a step towards his highest ranking follower, grinning as he saw his own death through Malfoy's eyes._

_Before Lucius had time to raise his wand in defense he was dead._

_Harry Potter watched the argument from the bottom of the hill. At first he thought the killing curse had been used on Ginny, but when Lucius fell on top of her, dead at the hands of his master, he was shocked. Voldemort was frozen still. Death obviously affected him when it was someone he had grown attached to, or was it something else?_

_Harry acted upon his stillness before it was too late. Pointing his wand and yelling simultaneously, "AVADA KADEVARA!!" the bolt of green lightning struck the enemy in the back of the head and he was dead instantly._

_As Potter examined The Dark Lord for signs of life, Draco ran up the hill to his father finding him as dead as his maker. The cause of his death sat next to him staring at his face like he was an exhibit. He watched her sigh and brush her hand across his eyelids, closing them for the last time._

**DM**

"That's when I knocked you out." he blinked up at her, "Do you remember that?" Draco prompted softly.

"Yes." Ginny whispered coming out of the memory, "I'm sorry."

She looked at him slowly, "When I came to everyone was gone. What happened?"

"I don't know, I left right after you saw me." he stared at her bright chocolate eyes feeling something brewing in the pit of his stomach. She blushed lightly and Draco breathed in slowly, pulling his right hand into a fist and getting up before he did something very, very stupid.

"Where are you going?"

"Breakfast. Do I have to inform you of every decision I'm going to make?" he spat the question out to counteract his previous behavior.

"I guess not." she shrank back into her covers as he walked downstairs cursing the whole way.

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**A/N**: Thanks for not killing me for my incompetence. This chapter brought to you by the CD:_ Music to Die For_... Mostly crazy depressing classical stuff that I love to death.

ps. I'll forgive all of you if y'all don't love me anymore. cheesy grin (ew... y'all... haha...)


	11. The Consequences of Exploding Cake

**Disclaimer**: I do know how to conjure cake out of thin air without using magic... though, I'm sure the owner of these characters would tell me it's impossible.

**Warnings****: **language, (eventual sex... this is taking me too long isn't it?)

**A/N****: **Try to enjoy what has taken me too long to write. Also, keep in mind that I don't use a beta... please excuse any mistakes you find!

**Key****: DM**: Draco's POV, **GW**: Ginny's POV. I'll note it _before _the POV changes.

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**11. The Consequences of Exploding Cake**

_("Where are you going?"_

_"Breakfast. Do I have to inform you of every decision I'm going to make?" he spat the question out to counteract his previous behavior._

_"I guess not." she shrank back into her covers as he walked downstairs cursing the whole way.)_

_'God dammit!' _Draco's internal monologue switched between fantasies of the girl upstairs in bed, and profanities that would shock the most vulgar of sailors. He steadied himself by gripping the counter, breathing in and out very slowly. This was exactly the kind of thing he would **not** tolerate, no matter how tempted he felt. She's a Weasley for crying out loud!

A few minutes later, and with a clear mind, he walked over to the fridge and pulled two Mackerel fish out for dinner. He usually grilled his meals outside, but with He Who Must Not Be Named's other worldly ghost hovering over the white beaches, Draco thought better of the idea.

He preheated the oven to 400 degrees, and laid each fish on a piece of foil brushing them with butter and sprinkling salt on them. It wasn't a very interesting recipe, but there wasn't much else to use with limited resources.

**GM**

After Malfoy stomped down the stairs, Ginny figured the coast was clear. The salt and brine residue stuck to her skin, and made her itch like crazy. Red curls sat a top her head, a hat of knots, and there was no way they would ever come out without washing the sand out first. So, as quickly and quietly as she could, Ginny snuck a towel fro the linen closet and slipped into the bathroom to take a shower.

The warm water felt wonderful against her skin as it trickled in soft droplets down her arms and legs, massaging her sore body and rinsing the sticky salt out of her hair. She stretched her hands above her head, stretching tired muscles. She felt as though she could fly, like the world was suddenly perfect and she was living in a dream. It had been a long time since happiness had snuck up on her so suddenly and she gasped at its presence, feeling almost ashamed of being so at peace with herself.

She washed herself using Malfoy's shampoo and soap. It smelled absolutely divine, and made her wonder why she never noticed how wonderful he smelled. She instantly dismissed the idea, and began to comb the everlasting knots out of her thick, curly hair. After she felt sufficiently clean, she turned the water off and stepped out of the marble basin, drying herself off.

Looking up at the mirror she noticed her face looked less pale; her cheeks held a slight flush from the heat of the water, and she pinched them to intensify the color.

She was staring at herself when she heard him; his unmistakable gait up the stairs and down the hallway that stopped just before her door. He knocked, once… twice… and called her name,

"Weasley?"… Well, it was her last name.

She scurried to wrap the towel around her body and slowly opened the bathroom door, answering him quietly but not without confidence,

"Yes?"

**DM**

If he was expecting anything, it wasn't this. The small redhead, water glittering off her skin, sunlight from the window outlining her form like an angel sent to destroy him. It didn't help that she wasn't wearing any decent clothes. He wouldn't have to work very hard to have her naked in front of him, to touch her smooth skin, and do whatever he pleased to her small body. It took every ounce of his self-control and Malfoy coolness to ignore his instincts, which was quite a lot.

"Uughhmm…" he coughed, gaining more control, "dinner's set, when you're ready." He averted his eyes, praying she would answer sooner than later.

"Yes… well, I'll be down in just a bit." She fidgeted with a strand of her hair, staring straight at him with those fiery eyes of hers, and waited for him to move.

What was she thinking? Was she intentionally tempting him; trying to draw him in with her long lashed glances? Draco closed his eyes and turned around, taking a long, deep breath and digging his middle fingernail into the knuckle of his thumb, he forced himself to descend the stairs.

**GW**

Gin rushed into her room quicker than was necessary. _'What in the name of Dumbledore is going on?'_ she thought quietly to herself, _'he clearly hasn't seen a nearly-naked woman in quite some time, based on that reaction. But, honestly!'_

She was terrified, and turned-on equally by the look she received from Malfoy. His eyes smoldered to deep silver, an internal storm visible in his irises. But, as he recessed within himself, and she saw the war he was fighting with his body she became alarmed. She almost wanted to run away, even though he drew her in with intense glare.

Hot and feverish, she cupped her face in her hands while walking over to the window to press her warm cheeks against the glass before getting dressed. Tom wasn't in sight, and it made her uneasy not knowing where he was or what he was doing. She pulled on jeans and a v-neck sweater and quickly brushed out her hair, stealing a quick glance in the mirror before steadying herself and going downstairs.

Turning the corner to the dining room, she spotted him setting the silverware. His stance was normal, posture straight, eyes clouded and mysterious. Not anything like the stormy mercury they had been a few minutes ago. But his careful movements and the fact that he wouldn't look her in the eye made her anxious. She wanted to grab his face and force him to stare at her, to make his eyes focus again.

It was a selfish impulse. She wanted to be looked at, wanted someone to want her. She was filling a hole left by someone else, and it was unfair.

**(A/N: Omni 3rd person past POV)**

Draco sat in his chair and waited for her to sit before starting his meal. So, she gracelessly slumped into position and unfolded a napkin across her lap, staring at the meat on her plate.

"It's Mackerel. They have a strong taste, so if you don't particularly enjoy fish, I'm sorry. But they're the most popular species this time of year." He wasn't really apologizing, but it's the thought that counts, right?

"I happen to really enjoy fish, so I guess you're lucky this time." She teased. She knew she shouldn't push his buttons, but it was so hard to stop being a flirt if you were born one. She smirked up at him, but he wasn't even looking in her direction. He was staring straight down at his own hands, and didn't move until she looked away from him to start eating.

They ate in silence, unless you count the sound of forks scraping against plates, and Draco tapping his foot, restlessly... with no tempo or rhythm. A habit.

"He's not outside anymore." Ginny dabbed her mouth with the napkin before looking at the boy across from her.

"What?" he looked up at her absentmindedly, lost in his own thoughts.

"You look upset. Is it because you don't know where _he_ is?"

He took a second before answering, editing his answer before speaking, "No. I'm not upset, and I don't care where he is, unless he's found a way to knock on the front door." Draco chuckled, the idea was obviously ridiculous.

"Oh." she looked down at her plate, unable to enjoy the joke and subtly upset that he would address the matter so nonchalantly.

When dinner was over Ginny stood to collect their plates, and started doing the dishes. It was her chore back at the Burrow… before all of this.

"Well, at least you've found a use for yourself." Malfoy smirked, watching her dexterous hands scrub the plates and utensils. She fumbled a bit, realizing she hadn't set a towel aside to place them on after washing, but settled for temporarily putting them on the counter.

Noticing her dilemma Draco spoke up, "Here, I'll dry." He moved beside her, towel in hand and picked up a fork.

Ginny snorted something awful, which he supposed was a suppressed laugh and instead of commenting on how grotesque he found the noise, he focused on the task at hand.

"Oh. God." she stopped to stare at him, eyebrows raised, with a humorous glint in her eyes, "You were serious... Oh Kay." she blinked, and turned to finish what was left in the soapy sink.

"What do you think I've been doing here all by myself?" he scoffed, "eating off the table?" He paused to consider the next statement before allowing himself to risk being caught in an inevitable trap, "It's not like I've never done dishes before."

He waited for her to laugh, nothing. Surely, some comment about his hundreds of house elves was due. Ginny was silent.

Draco looked over at her. She wasn't even staring at him, her work seemed unaffected, and it was as if she didn't even hear what he said. Another fork was set on the counter, and she finally noticed his direct gawking.

"If you stop for a break after every dish, you'll never finish before bed." Her tone was enough to satisfy him. It was close enough to an insult, so similar to countering him about his dish washing experience that he was able to get back to work and forget about his almost freak-out.

"So, what's for dessert?" she was rinsing the last plate, inspecting it for stray food particles.

That caught him off guard, for sure. Stuttering at first, he regained composure enough to finish the sentence with most of his dignity in tact.

"I… um, I thought you would have realized that we don't have many resources here." He risked a side-glance at her, "If you know of a way to conjure a cake out of thin air without using magic, by all means, go right ahead."

She stood for a moment, perhaps thinking,

"Well, I did learn this trick from my mum. I've never tried before, be she explained it pretty well... I wonder if I... Do you have any bread?"

Draco dried his hands and walked over to the fridge, poking around at the items it contained before emerging with the stale end of a loaf in hand. It was immediately snatched from him in her haste and excitement, and placed down on the counter.

"Now, I have to concentrate very hard on the flavors..."

Draco watched as the crusty bread slowly changed texture and grew frosting, his mouth hanging open; this was magic he'd never seen before.

"Ok, now shape and size..." her eyes scrunched up as the cake grew, "almost perfect…" the cake was growing larger and larger, "oh no… stop!" but as she opened her eyes the cake exploded in a gooey mass of frosting and spongy pastry.

They both stood still, silent as kids caught doing something terribly wrong. Ginny was looking from where the cake used to be, to Draco. While, he was only looking at her, wide-eyed and stunned, his mouth still agape.

He finally broke the silence, "I'm covered in cake."

Ginny could not contain her laughter as it bubbled over her lips, and held on to the counter so she wouldn't slip. She was still looking between the mass of icing and Draco, laughing harder each time her eyes landed on him.

"You're covered too! What's so funny?"

"I… I know that I'm covered in… cake." She could barely breathe through her laughing.

He watched her. He studied her midsection as she laughed and her eyes as they began to tear from the effort. He fixed his eyes on her face, more calm by the second, recovering from her laugh attack.

"We better clean this up." He said. That seemed to sober her up, right quick.

"Yes. Hold on. I know a charm for that."

"No." he looked terrified of the idea, "No more wandless charms for you!"

"I've done this one hundreds of times…"

"I'm warning you Weasley…"

"Don't worry…"

"I already am."

She closed her eyes and concentrated for about ten seconds as the mess disappeared, piece by piece, as if it was being erased.

"There. See? No harm done." But it was his turn to laugh. Or, smirk, really. There was still a huge gob of frosting on her right cheek, "What?" she was confused by his rapid mood swings.

"You've still got a bit there." He pointed to her face and she swatted to get it off, only succeeding in spreading it more. He chuckled, "No, up a bit." And again, she wiped at her face, getting most of it.

"Did I get it?" she lifted her face towards the light so he could see.

"No, there's still some…"

"Where?"

"Here, I'll just…" he took three long strides across the kitchen to stand in front of her, and quickly wiped it off with his thumb, his long fingers pressing against her jaw line in front of her ear, thumb rubbing softly against her cheek. His sudden closeness wreaked havoc on her senses. She blushed and backed away from him, looking to the floor.

"Maybe you can try again tomorrow. It almost worked, you know." He was licking the frosting off his finger, and she couldn't help the images that played through her mind as she watched him.

"Yeah." She responded automatically. Her coherent brain was on autopilot, and she was a useless mass of bone and tissue. _'Well, not _completely _useless…'_ She looked down at her hands, bashful and blushing. _'I wouldn't be surprised if I'm red as a beat by now.'_

They stood facing each other in silence, neither one meeting the other's glances, both not knowing what to do. The tension in the air was undeniable. Ginny felt the heat and energy radiating off his body, and the magnetic pull that wanted her to move closer to him.

When she finally blinked up at him, their eyes met. It was only for a brief second before he looked away again, clenching his fists at his sides. But it was enough time for her to see that his eyes had once again melted to deep metallic silver, enough for her hands to shake, and her breath to catch in her throat.

That caught his attention. His eyes flashed to her mouth, watching her breath. And suddenly, she almost couldn't. She was breathing in small, shallow tugs that barely satisfied her lungs, and now her entire body was quivering. But, suddenly, something was different. Why couldn't she feel? Defense kicked in as she thought of the first chapter of _Hogwarts: A History_.

It only took one step for Draco to reach her. He cupped her right cheek, not knowing that something was amiss, "It's ok if you're afraid of me." He whispered.

"Not you, him. He's here. _H__ogwarts was founded over a thousand years ago - the precise date is uncertain - by the four greatest witches and wizards of the age…_" Was her response.

"Who…" But Draco found his answer quickly indeed. For just outside the window, looking towards the forest was The Dark Lord. Rumor has it, Tom had a 'special connection' with Ginny, so Draco figured he was trying to pick through her brain. _'Smart girl.'_ He thought, as she continued to recite Chapter One of the most boring text book he'd ever laid eyes on.

Not wanting to disrupt her train of thought, Draco grabbed her hand and pulled her behind him, up the stairs and into his room. Closing and locking the door behind them, he turned to close the blinds.

"You can stop doing that now. My room has extra spells built in for Occlumency."

She sighed, instantly gratified. "Thanks. I really need to find new material, Hogwarts: A History is getting really old."

"I'll bet" he smirked.

She realized that their hands were still clasped together, his thumb rubbing smoothly against her knuckles. She wiggled her fingers in reflex, and he let go.

"What are we going to do now?" she covered her embarrassment with inquiries.

"Sleep, I guess." He shrugged, "that's what I was planning on doing before he showed his sorry ass."

She moved towards the door, "Ok, I'll just go then…" But he caught her waist with his forearm and pulled her back.

"Oh no you won't. None of the other rooms in the house offer the kind of protection that mine does. You're staying right here." Her eyes widened a bit, but he spoke before she could even react.

"Oh, shut up! I'll sleep on the chair, and you can sleep in the bed. That's not what I was thinking. God, who do you think I am?" He walked to the wardrobe and pulled out a pair of green silk pants and a blanket from the top shelf. Turning around and gaping at her, he finally shook his head, "you can turn around now."

She realized what he was doing, and turned quicker than she thought possible.

"All clear." He signaled, and she slowly turned back around to a shirtless Draco Malfoy. However, she didn't have much time to react as he threw a t-shirt and a matching pair of pants at her, turning around as soon as he confirmed that she caught them.

Ginny hurried to change her clothes. She left her bra on, feeling uncomfortable without one in his presence. She folded her day clothes, and let him know she was done.

"Weasley?"

She looked back at him, but now he was only a foot away from her.

"What's going to happen to us? What does he want?" her mouth betrayed her mind.

"Everything's going to be ok." He reached down to brush a tendril of her hair out of her face, and tenderly pushed it behind her ear leaving a hot trail of goose bumps where he touched her. Holding her head in his hands, Draco bent down to press his lips against her feverish forehead. "Goodnight."

She climbed into his bed, and he climbed into the chair. But neither one of them found sleep easily.

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**A/N:** So... what do you think? REVIEWW pleasee!! Praise and Flames are accepted equally, as long as the latter is justified. Thanks so much to my past reviewers (and yes, I got this idea from Wiccan98) **AlyssaRaven, Peril Of Hope, BeachBummm227, jjp91, sing-me-this-lullaby, Eve Granger, darkroses2992,Fall-Child-08, springawakening1894, xxfire-feariexxx, Nimyune, Beastie, and snowfire81**. You guys mean the world to me!!

_Thank you hp-lexicon for the description of Hogwarts!_

ps. I'm **still **sorry for killing Blaise. But, trust me, for this plot to work, it had to happen. I heart Blaise as much as the next girl. In fact, my next ff is Ginny/Blaise(/Draco... maybe?)


	12. A Face in the Window

**Disclaimer**: I do not have an accent that makes my voice more appealing in the commercial industry. Actually, it's quite the opposite, seeing as I'm from Jersey, and have appalling speech habits… so it's safe to assume I own nothing.

**Warnings****: **language, fluff

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**12. A Face in the Window**

_(She climbed into his bed, and he climbed into the chair. But neither one of them found sleep easily.)_

Ginny tossed all night.

First, she was too hot. Malfoy's silk pants clung to her skin, smothering her legs in their own sweat. But, as the night set in and breezes from the sea drifted up to the house, the bedroom chilled to an almost freezing temperature. Her pants, dampened from hours of sweating before, did not keep her warm, but she refused to sleep under his covers. The idea seemed too intimate; they weren't close enough for her to invade his personal space. She wished she were sleeping in the chair, bundled up under a thick wool throw.

She dreamed of the cold that immersed her. It penetrated her senses and was a part of her. She was under the water. The surface opaque as a smooth membrane, obscured the brilliance of the stars and moon above itself, dimming their distant twinkling, though she could still make out their cloudy forms.

She broke the water's peaceful spell, letting out bubbles of air, and watched them rise to the surface. They danced, molding their forms, four becoming two, becoming one to quicken their journey to the surface. She wanted to see them again, to watch their hypnotic flight and drew in for a breath…

'_Wait! I can't breath!'_ Ginny kicked to the surface flailing convulsively until her hands collided with the top. Ice. The water was frozen. She kicked the cold mass, but it was too thick… she was running out of air. She opened her mouth, a large OHH and screamed, instinctively breathing, but drank cold water instead. It filled her lungs and she choked trying to cough it up.

She fell out of bed.

"Ouch!" Wood floors aren't the softest things to land on, though she supposed it could be worse. She stood to find Malfoy still asleep '_Thank God.',_ she crawled back on to the bed. It was impossible to fall asleep in the cold.

**DM**

The sun shone brightly and directly into Draco's eyes the next morning, waking him with such intensity, he felt as though he'd been awake for hours. Almost everything about him was warmth. The foggy memories of distant dreams running through his mind, all the way down his body to his ankles. His feet, on the other hand, were freezing.

Pulling his arms out of their cocoon, he stretched upward, tentatively feeling the brisk morning chill. He straightened his shoulders and spine out of the twisted position he bent himself into during the night and curled his legs under him, the better to warm his feet.

Weasley was still sleeping… on top of the covers. '_Amazing'_, he thought, '_Stubborn to the grave._' He noticed her trembling, but was too selfish to leave the warmth of his own blanket-covered body to cover hers.

She mumbled something incoherent and turned towards him, eyes shut tightly, in a dreamlike trance. Her face was still, freckles standing in proud contrast to the cream of her skin. But, there was a touch of color in her cheeks, a hint of a smile perched on her lips. Draco suddenly felt the urge to crawl up next to her. Cradle her body against his to warm her skin; he wanted to feel her smooth hair running through his fingers as he caressed her. He shut his eyes tightly, trying to control his imagination.

The wind howled outside.

He shut his eyes in attempt to fall back to sleep, which only made the howling wind and every other sound around him grow louder.

When the wind blew, panels in the window rattled, the waves outside beat on the shore with serious vengeance, the clock downstairs tic-tocked to the seconds of his timed sanity, Ginny's shallow breathing, his breath matching hers… "Tom."

His eyes shot opened, she moaned.

"TOM!" she flailed on the bed, breathing hard.

He couldn't believe what was happening. It sounded like she was in the middle of a fantasy, and he felt dirty listening to her screaming _his_ name. He felt even more ashamed for wanting her to scream his, and disgusted that she could ever feel for that sick bastard. She started to kick and scream. '_Whaatt…?'_

"TOM! Nooo… STOP! PLEASE NO!" she was screaming, and pleading, and crying and Draco felt like an asshole.

He jumped out of the chair bounding towards her grabbing hold of her shoulders he shaking until she shot up, sitting in front of him, tear-filled eyes staring through his own eyes. Her screams stilled, a surprised silence echoed in her throat.

He stared, unable to speak, and not knowing what to say anyway until she looked away from him, averting her terror, calming her senses. Her eyes moved down his neck to his chest, caressing his skin with her gaze; affirming that he was there. He almost shivered from the intimacy. Then she looked to her feet on the bed, she _was _on the bed, an affirmation that she was safe. And, finally to the window… there was nothing outside, but he knew what she was looking for.

Her hands found their way to her lap, and rested there, while she bore holes into the window praying she would see _him_ before _he_ saw her.

"He's not there." He heard himself whisper, but Ginny's eyes did not stray, "it's ok, it was just a dream."

"Don't you feel him?" she sounded crazy, her hands started to tremble, "Don't you feel his anger? He senses I am near, but cannot place me… oh…" her fists balled and her body stilled and shrunk like a child, hiding from an abusive parent.

_He_ was trying to get in again, but couldn't penetrate the magic surrounding the room. He flew to where she was, but could not see her, though he stared straight into her eyes through the misty, loose panels of the window.

Draco turned to look over his shoulder, '_it couldn't be…'_, but Ginny halted his progress, her small hand catching his jaw and pulling his head back. "Don't look." She locked his eyes to hers and held them there. The Dark Lord screamed. "He knows we're together now."

Tom's face was pressed against the glass, his nose and cheeks contorted into something awfully foul.

"What do we do?" Draco could barely breath.

"Did you cast the occulmency spells yourself?"

"… yes. Why?"

"Do you still have your wand?"

"Yes, but if we use magic, he can…"

"He's already found us! Don't you see? It doesn't matter now… we have to leave!" Ginny jumped up, trying to ignore the foggy face in the window, a small crack in the glass. She stared at Draco, waiting…

"NOW, Draco! We have to leave NOW!"

He leapt off the bed to the closet from which he produced two black bags similar to the one Blaize used to carry.

"Catch!" He tossed one in her direction before rummaging for something in his dresser drawers shoving a few unidentifiable objects in his pockets before uttering a small "A-Ha!" and turning to show her a key.

"What's that for?" Ginny put the backpack on as she slid off the bed.

"Put these on." He handed her a pair of shoes, which she slid her tiny feet in to, surprised that he had a pair of shoes her size.

Tom Riddle screamed again, the window was fractured beyond repair as his face pressed ferociously against the glass which would have cut his skin if he wasn't a ghost… Draco grabbed her hand and she gasped.

"Shhhh! Just follow me and don't make any noise. Understand?" She nodded her head and he stared intensely at her for a few moments, making sure she understood, "No talking."

Ginny smirked and made a gesture with her hand as if she were sealing her lips shut with a zipper, eyes glowing mischievously with excitement and fear. It was all too much to bear: her eyes were shining, two perfect pink lips resting… waiting. Draco couldn't stop himself from leaning down and softly resting his lips on her own for a split second before pulling her out of his bedroom towards the door at the end of the hall where he pressed a key into the handle and slowly rotated.

"Ohhh…" Ginny started but was cut short by Draco's index finger on her lips, and a shake of his head told her that he was serious about the 'no noise' requirement.

His hand held hers in a tight grip as he opened the door and led her inside, where it was too dark to see.

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**A/N**: Apparently I have very bad ADD, or something like that. It's been very hard for me with this story because I thought I knew where I was going, and then HDH came out and then I changed my mind yadi yadi yada… so here we are. It's 2010. I'm still not finished this story and am super sorry for falling off the face of the earth. I hope you guys are still interested in this fic! This chapter is quite short, but I'll hopefully have the next one up within the week.

I like to take a moment to thank** xxfire-feariexxx **for commenting 2 years after my last post and prompting me to pick up this story again. Thank goodness comments are forwarded to my email address. It's quite helpful.

Sooo… love it? Hate it? Suggestions? Questions? Review! Praise and Flames are accepted equally, as long as the latter is constructive. (I mean, other than the obvious "What's taking so long?" I kinda already know I've got a problem with that.)


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